Fell Asleep at the Wheel, Hit Something and Left: What You Face in Pennsylvania After Calling the Police

Attorney Answer

What you face depends first on what you hit. If the reported crash injured someone, leaving is a first-degree misdemeanor under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3742, and a felony if the injury was serious; if it damaged an occupied or attended vehicle or property, a third-degree misdemeanor under § 3743; if it damaged only an unattended car or other property, a summary offense under § 3745. In each case the Commonwealth must prove you knew or should have known you were in an accident. Falling asleep can also be charged as a driving offense of its own. You have already spoken to the police once; talk to a criminal defense lawyer before you say anything more.

Which section. For an injury crash, § 3742(b)(1):

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person violating this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.

For damage to an occupied or attended vehicle or property, § 3743(b):

(b) Penalty.-- Any person violating this section commits a misdemeanor of the third degree, punishable by a fine of $2,500 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

For an unattended vehicle or property, § 3745(b):

(b) Penalty.-- A violation of this section is a summary offense, punishable by a fine of $300 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.

What you knew. In Commonwealth v. Woosnam, 819 A.2d 1198 (Pa. Super. 2003), the Superior Court held that the Commonwealth must prove the driver knew or should have known he or she was involved in an accident. You knew you hit something. Whether you knew or should have known that it was a collision with another vehicle, a person or someone's property — and what you could see when you looked around — is where a defense lawyer will start.

The call to the police. If the crash involved an attended vehicle or property, a later call is not the exchange of information the law required at the scene; 75 Pa.C.S. § 3744(b) allows a report to the police instead only when no one at the scene was in a condition to receive the information and no officer was present. If it involved only unattended property, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3745(a) required notice to the police “without unnecessary delay”, and whether a next-day call met that is a question for your lawyer. Either way, what you said on the call can be used as evidence.

Falling asleep as its own charge. Two driving offenses may be charged on top of any leaving-the-scene count. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3714(a):

(a) General rule.-- Any person who drives a vehicle in careless disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of careless driving, a summary offense.

And 75 Pa.C.S. § 3736:

(a) General rule.-- Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.

(b) Penalty.-- Any person who violates this section commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $200.

The difference is the driver's state of mind. Reckless driving requires a conscious disregard of a known risk, more than the careless disregard of § 3714, as the Superior Court explained in Commonwealth v. Bullick, 830 A.2d 998 (Pa. Super. 2003). The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has held that falling asleep at the wheel is evidence a jury may weigh on recklessness, because it suggests the driver ignored the warning signs of sleep, while leaving open whether falling asleep alone is enough: Commonwealth v. Huggins, 575 Pa. 395, 836 A.2d 862 (2003). A conviction under § 3743 or § 3736 carries a six-month license suspension (75 Pa.C.S. § 1532(b)(1)), and one under § 3742 a one-year suspension (§ 1532(a)(3)).

What you can do

1. Talk to a Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer before you speak to the police, an investigator or anyone else about this, and do not write out your account of what happened for anyone in the meantime. What you say can be used as evidence.

2. Do not repair, sell or dispose of the car until you have spoken to a lawyer.

3. Do not contact anyone connected with the reported crash.

4. Ask your lawyer how to give your insurer the notice your policy requires.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. If you receive a citation or summons, the date on it controls. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1533(a), failing to respond to a citation or summons for a Vehicle Code violation leads to a license suspension, separate from the charge itself.