Your Car Was Gone After You Left a One-Car Crash: Finding It and Your Duties in Pennsylvania

Attorney Answer

Most likely the police had it towed, so start with the police department that covers the place where you crashed, or the State Police if a trooper handled it. Pennsylvania law lets an officer remove an unattended vehicle that blocks traffic or creates a hazard, or one whose driver is physically unable to arrange its removal. Whether leaving it caused you a legal problem depends on two things: whether the crash damaged anyone else's property, and whether your car needed a tow, because in that case the police had to be told.

Why the police may have moved it. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3352(b):

(b) Unattended vehicle obstructing traffic.-- Any police officer may remove or cause to be removed to a place of safety any unattended vehicle illegally left standing upon any highway, bridge, causeway or in any tunnel, in such position or under such circumstances as to interfere unduly with the normal movement of traffic or constitute a safety hazard.

And § 3352(c):

(c) Removal to garage or place of safety.-- Any police officer may remove or cause to be removed to the place of business of the operator of a wrecker or to a nearby garage or other place of safety any vehicle found upon a highway under any of the following circumstances:

(2) The person or persons in charge of the vehicle are physically unable to provide for the custody or removal of the vehicle.

A car is not presumed abandoned that quickly: under the definition in 75 Pa.C.S. § 102, an inoperable vehicle is presumed abandoned only after it has been left unattended on a highway or other public property for more than 48 hours. A car that disappeared within hours of a crash was most likely moved under § 3352. If the police did not move it, report it stolen.

Your duties after a one-car crash. If the car could not be driven away, the police had to be notified. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(a):

(a) General rule.-- The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident shall immediately by the quickest means of communication give notice to the nearest office of a duly authorized police department if the accident involves: (1) injury to or death of any person; or (2) damage to any vehicle involved to the extent that it cannot be driven under its own power in its customary manner without further damage or hazard to the vehicle, other traffic elements, or the roadway, and therefore requires towing.

If the crash damaged someone else's property — a pole, a fence, a sign, a parked car — 75 Pa.C.S. § 3745(a) also required you to stop, find the owner or leave a written note with your name, address, insurance information and registration number, and notify the police without unnecessary delay. Under § 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.

If nothing else was damaged and the car could still be driven, walking away from it was not itself a violation of these crash duties.

What you can do

1. Call the non-emergency number of the police department for the area where the crash happened and ask whether the car was towed, and by whom.

2. If the police did not move it, report it stolen.

3. Bring your license, registration and proof of insurance to the tow yard, and ask for an itemized bill.

4. If the crash damaged someone else's property, or the car needed a tow and you did not notify the police, talk to a criminal defense lawyer before you discuss the crash with the police.

5. Tell your insurer about the crash. Damage to your own car is covered only if you carry collision coverage.

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. Storage charges at a tow yard usually build up by the day, so recover the car promptly. The owner of any property you damaged has two years to bring a claim under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(3).