Hit and Run While Driving on a Suspended License in Pennsylvania: The Charges and What They Carry

Attorney Answer

These are two separate offenses, and the first one depends on what the crash involved. Leaving the scene of a crash that injured someone is a first-degree misdemeanor under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3742; leaving after damaging an occupied or attended vehicle or property is a third-degree misdemeanor under § 3743; failing to stop and leave notice after hitting an unattended car or other property is a summary offense under § 3745. Driving while suspended is a summary offense with a $200 fine, unless the suspension was tied to a DUI, in which case it carries jail time. Talk to a criminal defense lawyer before you say anything more about either.

Leaving the scene: which section. If anyone was hurt, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3742 required the driver to stop and stay until the information-and-aid duties were met, and § 3742(b)(1) sets the grade:

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

Serious bodily injury raises it to a felony of the third degree, and a death to a felony of the second degree (§ 3742(b)(2)–(3)). If only property was damaged and the other vehicle or property was occupied or attended, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3743 applies:

(a) General rule.-- The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as possible but shall forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of section 3744 (relating to duty to give information and render aid).

(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.

The duties referred to are in 75 Pa.C.S. § 3744(a): give your name, address and the vehicle's registration number, and on request show your license and insurance information. If the car you hit was parked and empty, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3745 instead required you to find the owner or leave a written note, and to notify the police; a violation is a summary offense under § 3745(b).

What the Commonwealth must prove. Leaving the scene is not automatic guilt. 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 that he or she was involved in an accident. “Should have known” is a lower bar than actual knowledge, so the standard helps a driver who genuinely could not have noticed the collision, and does little for one who did.

Driving while suspended. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1543(a):

(a) Offense defined.-- Except as provided in subsection (b), any person who drives a motor vehicle on any highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth after the commencement of a suspension, revocation or cancellation of the operating privilege and before the operating privilege has been restored is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction or adjudication of delinquency, be sentenced to pay a fine of $200.

The exception matters. Under § 1543(b)(1)(i), if the suspension was imposed for a DUI or a chemical-test refusal, or as a condition of ARD for a DUI, a first conviction carries a $500 fine and 60 days' imprisonment. And under § 1543(c), a conviction adds another period of suspension — an additional year where the license was already suspended on the date of the violation.

Your license. A conviction under § 3742 carries a one-year suspension, and one under § 3743 a six-month suspension (75 Pa.C.S. § 1532(a)(3), (b)(1)).

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. Keep every paper you have been given, and find the court date. The citation or complaint names the sections you are charged under, which is what decides everything above.

3. Find out why and until when your license was suspended, if you are not sure. Your lawyer will need to know whether the suspension was DUI-related.

4. Do not drive until your license is restored.

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.