When a State Police Car Runs a Red Light and Hits You in Pennsylvania

Attorney Answer

Being hit by a police car does not make you the one at fault, and the officer's own department does not get the last word on it. The two things that decide this are whether the trooper was using both lights and siren, and whether you file a written notice within six months. The second one is the deadline people miss.

Start with the rule that lets emergency vehicles go through red lights, because it is narrower than most people think. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3105(b)(2), the driver of an emergency vehicle may:

Proceed past a red signal indication or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation, except as provided in subsection (d).

That privilege only exists when both warning systems are on. § 3105(c) says:

The privileges granted in this section to an emergency vehicle shall apply only when the vehicle is making use of an audible signal and visual signals meeting the requirements and standards set forth in regulations adopted by the department.

And even then, § 3105(e) keeps the ordinary duty of care in place:

This section does not relieve the driver of an emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons.

So there are two branches, and each one is definite. If the cruiser had no siren, no lights, or only one of them, § 3105 gives the trooper no special privilege at all, and he was bound by the red light like anyone else. If both were on, he could proceed against the red only “after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation,” and still had to drive “with due regard for the safety of all persons.” Whether he did is a question of fact about speed, visibility and timing. What you saw and heard matters, and so does any video from nearby businesses or the cruiser itself.

The police report does not decide fault. It is natural to worry when the report is written by the other driver's own agency. But 75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(b)(4) says plainly:

The copy of the report shall not be admissible as evidence in any action for damages or criminal proceedings arising out of a motor vehicle accident.

Even if some fault were put on you, it would not end your claim. Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), lets an injured driver recover so long as their negligence “was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought” — and then reduces the damages by that driver’s own share.

A claim against the State Police is a claim against the Commonwealth, and it runs on different rules. Sovereign immunity is waived for this kind of crash. 42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(b)(1) lists:

The operation of any motor vehicle in the possession or control of a Commonwealth party.

Two limits come with that waiver. Damages are capped by 42 Pa.C.S. § 8528(b):

Damages arising from the same cause of action or transaction or occurrence or series of causes of action or transactions or occurrences shall not exceed $250,000 in favor of any plaintiff or $1,000,000 in the aggregate.

And you must give written notice within six months. That is the trap. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)(1):

(1) Within six months from the date that any injury was sustained or any cause of action accrued, any person who is about to commence any civil action or proceeding within this Commonwealth or elsewhere against a government unit for damages on account of any injury to his person or property under Chapter 85 (relating to matters affecting government units) or otherwise shall file in the office of the government unit, and if the action is against a Commonwealth agency for damages, then also file in the office of the Attorney General, a statement in writing, signed by or in his behalf, setting forth:

For a Commonwealth agency like the State Police, the statement also goes to the Office of Attorney General. It lists your name and address, the date, hour and place of the crash, and any attending physician. If it is not filed, § 5522(a)(2) provides:

If the statement provided for by this subsection is not filed, any civil action or proceeding commenced against the government unit more than six months after the date of injury to person or property shall be dismissed and the person to whom any such cause of action accrued for any injury to person or property shall be forever barred from proceeding further thereon within this Commonwealth or elsewhere.

A court can sometimes excuse a late notice, but nobody should plan around that.

Your own medical bills do not wait for any of this. Your own auto policy pays first-party medical benefits regardless of fault, at least $5,000 under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1711(a). One more practical point: a claim against a Commonwealth party cannot go to a magisterial district judge (small claims) at all. 42 Pa.C.S. § 1515(a)(3) excludes it.

What you can do

1. Request a certified copy of the crash report. § 3751(b)(1) entitles anyone involved in the accident to one.

2. Write down now what you saw and heard as the cruiser approached: lights, siren, speed, your light's color. This is your own account as the injured driver, and it is the evidence on the § 3105 question.

3. Ask nearby businesses to keep any video from that day. Many systems record over themselves within days or weeks.

4. Report the crash to your own insurer and open a first-party medical claim.

5. Mark the date six months after the crash on your calendar, and speak to a Pennsylvania lawyer well before it. The notice under § 5522(a) is a formal document, and its contents are set by statute.

6. 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. The written notice to the State Police and the Attorney General is due within six months of the crash under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a). A lawsuit must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, which covers “An action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another.” If the officer turns out to have been with a local police department rather than the State Police, the six-month notice still applies, and a different damages cap, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8553(b), governs.