Criminal and Civil Exposure After Leaving a Crash Scene

Attorney Answer

Start here: stop telling people you ran. That sentence is an admission, and admissions are what these cases are usually built from. Speak to a criminal-defense attorney before you say anything else to the police, the other driver, or any insurer. California's two hit-and-run statutes carry very different consequences depending on whether anyone was hurt, and pinning down which one is in play is the first thing a lawyer will do.

Cal. Veh. Code § 20002(a) covers accidents resulting only in damage to property, including vehicles. It requires the driver to stop immediately at the nearest location that will not impede traffic, and then, under § 20002(a)(1)-(2), to identify themselves to the owner or, if the owner is not present, leave written notice and then to notify the police or the California Highway Patrol without unnecessary delay. That is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Cal. Veh. Code § 20001(a) covers accidents resulting in injury to a person other than the driver, or in death. It requires the driver to stop immediately at the scene. The penalties are on another level: up to one year in county jail and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, and where the accident results in death or permanent serious injury, two to four years in state prison or 90 days to one year in county jail.

Both sections are written around a driver being involved in an accident rather than causing one, so being blameless for the collision itself does not remove the duty to stop. That is the trap in explaining yourself: the explanation that feels exculpatory — that the other driver caused it, that you panicked, that you meant to go back — places you at the scene and confirms that you left.

Time passing is not a resolution either. Evidence you cannot see routinely exists: a doorbell or business camera, a witness, paint transfer, a part left behind, a plate written down. A quiet stretch of weeks tells you nothing about what an investigator already has.

The civil side runs separately and does not depend on a criminal case. Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for an injury occasioned to another by want of ordinary care. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 allows two years for an action for injury to, or the death of, an individual caused by another's wrongful act or neglect, and Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1) allows three years for damage to a vehicle. Whether your own auto policy defends or covers you in that claim is a question about the policy's wording, not about these statutes, and it is one to put to a lawyer rather than to an adjuster.

What you can do

1. Talk to a local criminal-defense attorney before any further contact with the police, the other driver, or any insurer. Most defense lawyers will take that call quickly.

2. Stop describing what happened to anyone else — friends, family, coworkers, group chats, social media. People who heard it can be asked about it later.

3. Do not write out, type, text, email or record your account, "just so I don't forget." Anything you create can be obtained.

4. Do not delete messages, photos or posts that already exist. Preserving is safe; deleting can create a separate and worse problem.

5. Leave your vehicle exactly as it is until your attorney has seen it — no repairs, no wash, no replaced parts.

6. At that first meeting, tell the attorney out loud who you have already spoken to about this, and what you have already sent. That is the thing they most need and least often get.

7. Ask the same attorney about the DMV accident-reporting requirement under Cal. Veh. Code § 16000(a) and about notifying your own insurer, and about whether coming forward makes sense on your facts. That last one is a legal choice with real consequences, and it is theirs to weigh with you, not yours to make alone. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Any date written on charging papers or a citation controls, and it is far shorter than any civil deadline. The civil claims that can follow run on their own clocks: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 allows two years for injury or death, and Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1) three years for damage to a vehicle, both ordinarily from the accident. How long the state has to bring a charge is a different question, governed by rules not covered here, and the DMV reporting deadline is shorter than any of these. Nothing on this page computes a date for you. Have a local criminal-defense attorney review your dates now, before anyone else contacts you.