My car was hit in a hit-and-run: shouldn't the driver be charged in New York?

Attorney Answer

Leaving the scene is against the law in New York, but whether anyone is charged is a decision for the police and the district attorney — not something a car owner can require, and not something a court will order on request. A charge would also not repair your car. Your claim for the damage runs on a separate track that does not wait for the criminal one, so the practical work is identifying the driver and opening the right insurance claim now.

The duty the other driver ignored is statutory. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 600 requires a driver who knows or has cause to know that damage has been caused to another person's property by an incident involving their vehicle to stop before leaving the place where the damage occurred, exhibit their license and insurance identification card, and give their name, residence and insurance information to the person whose property was damaged — or, if that person is not present, to report the incident as soon as physically able to the nearest police station or judicial officer. The statute then provides: "A violation of the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision shall constitute a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars or a sentence of imprisonment for up to fifteen days or both such fine and imprisonment." Where personal injury is involved rather than damage alone, the exposure rises and can be a misdemeanour.

That the conduct is punishable does not mean a prosecution will follow. Charging decisions rest on identification and proof: a plate number, a witness, an image clear enough to be relied on. Police departments prioritise, and a property-damage hit-and-run with no identified driver is often left open rather than pursued. That is frustrating and it is also not the end of the matter, because the civil claim asks a different question with a lower standard of proof and can proceed whether or not anyone is ever charged.

If the driver is identified, the claim goes to that driver's liability insurer, or to that driver directly. If the driver is never identified, what responds is usually coverage you bought yourself — collision coverage in particular pays for damage to your own vehicle regardless of who caused it, subject to your deductible and the policy's terms. Which of those applies to you is a question about your policy, not about a statute, so it is worth asking your insurer in plain terms what covers a hit-and-run.

What you can do

1. Make sure a police report exists and that it records the damage, the location and the time as accurately as you can establish them. Get the report number.

2. Photograph the damage before any repair, including paint transfer, which is often the best physical evidence of the other vehicle.

3. Ask every nearby business, building and neighbor to preserve camera footage now. Most systems overwrite within days.

4. Write down anything you or anyone else noticed — a partial plate, a colour, a direction of travel, the sound of the impact and the time.

5. Open a claim with your own insurer and ask which coverage applies if the driver is never identified, and what the deductible would be.

6. If someone is identified later, tell your insurer and a New York attorney; the civil claim does not depend on whether a charge was brought.

⏱ Time limits apply. CPLR 214(4) gives three years to commence an action to recover damages for an injury to property, measured from the date of the incident and subject to the exceptions § 214 names; if a person was injured, CPLR 214(5) sets its own three-year period. Those civil periods run whether or not anyone is charged, and a criminal case moving slowly does not extend them. Your policy will also impose its own, much shorter notice requirements, which are contractual rather than statutory and are not stated here. Because how these apply depends on facts this page cannot see, have a New York attorney review the dates and your policy now.