Hit-and-run laws and what to do in California

Getting hit by a driver who then speeds off is a special kind of awful. You're hurt, or your car is wrecked, and the one person responsible just vanished. California treats leaving the scene as a crime, and separately it gives you real paths to recover money even if police never identify the other driver. Here is how the rules actually work in this state.

Nationally, about 15% of police-reported crashes in 2023 involved a driver who fled, the highest share on record, and roughly one in four pedestrians killed in traffic that year were struck by a hit-and-run driver.¹ California's traffic volume puts it near the top for raw numbers.

What California law requires every driver to do

The duty to stop has nothing to do with fault. Any driver "involved in an accident" must stop, even if the other person blew the red light, and even if the crash happened on private property.

When a crash injures or kills someone, Vehicle Code section 20001 requires the driver to immediately stop at the scene and carry out the duties in sections 20003 and 20004.² Section 20003 is where the specifics live: give your name and current residence address, your vehicle's registration number, and the vehicle owner's name and address; show your driver's license on request; and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transport to a doctor or hospital.³ If someone died and no officer is present, section 20004 says you must report the crash without delay to the nearest CHP office or police authority.⁴

For a crash that damages only property, including another car or a mailbox, section 20002 applies. You have to stop, then either locate the owner and show identification, or leave a written note in a conspicuous place with your information and notify the police.⁵

What fleeing actually costs the driver

Property-damage-only hit-and-run under section 20002 is a misdemeanor. The maximum is six months in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.⁵

An injury or death hit-and-run under section 20001 is a "wobbler," which means prosecutors can file it as either a misdemeanor or a felony. As a misdemeanor it carries up to one year in county jail and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. When the crash caused death or "permanent, serious injury," it can be charged as a felony punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison, plus that same fine range. The statute defines permanent, serious injury as the loss or permanent impairment of function of a bodily member or organ.² Victim restitution comes on top of any fine.

Those penalties fall on the driver who ran. As the person who was hit, a criminal case does not hand you money directly, but a conviction and the police investigation behind it strengthen your civil and insurance claims.

If you're the victim and the other driver takes off

Get to safety and call 911. A police report matters here for a reason most people never hear: if you later need your own uninsured motorist coverage to pay for a hit-and-run, California law requires the crash to be reported to police within 24 hours.⁶ Blow past that window and the insurer has grounds to deny the claim.

Record everything while it's fresh. A partial plate, the make, model, and color, the direction the car fled, the time and exact location, damage to your vehicle, and the names of any witnesses all help investigators and adjusters later. You can request the official California crash report (the CHP 190 form) afterward.⁷ If you need help getting it, see the guide to California crash reports.

There's also a filing that catches people off guard. If the crash injured anyone, killed anyone, or caused more than $1,000 in property damage to any one person, Vehicle Code section 16000 requires you to file a report with the DMV within 10 days, on the SR-1 form.⁸ That duty is yours as an involved driver, and it is separate from the police report.

Getting paid when the driver is never found

This is where California gets specific, and where a lot of recovery actually happens.

A hit-and-run driver is treated as an uninsured motorist. Every California auto liability policy has to offer uninsured motorist coverage, and you can only turn it down in writing.⁶ If you kept it, this is the exact situation it was built for.

Insurance Code section 11580.2 has a catch that surprises people. For a hit-and-run bodily injury claim, there must have been physical contact between the fleeing car and you or your vehicle. A "phantom" driver who forced you off the road without ever touching your car generally will not support a UM injury claim. Beyond the 24-hour police report, you also have to file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days, saying you have a claim against an unidentified driver.⁶ Two short deadlines, both easy to miss when you're focused on healing.

On the property side, uninsured motorist property damage or collision coverage can pay to repair your car. If the repairs leave your vehicle worth less than it was before the crash, that lost value is a separate claim worth pursuing; the details are covered in the guide to diminished value in California.

For context on what an at-fault driver is even required to carry, California's minimum liability limits are 30/60/15 ($30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash, $15,000 property damage) as of January 1, 2025, rising to 50/100/25 in 2035.⁹ Those floors are low, which is part of why your own uninsured and underinsured coverage so often does the heavy lifting when the other driver is gone or carrying the bare minimum.

The deadlines that end your case

You generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in California under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, and three years for damage to a vehicle or other property under section 338.¹⁰¹¹ Those are the outer limits for going to court.

Your insurance deadlines are much shorter and run separately. The 24-hour police report and the 30-day sworn statement for a UM hit-and-run claim both start ticking at the crash, not when you feel ready.⁶ Report first, deal with the paperwork second.

One California rule tilts in your favor. The state follows pure comparative negligence, so even a driver who was partly at fault can still recover, with the award reduced by their share of blame (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804).¹² In a hit-and-run the fleeing driver usually owns the entire fault, but the rule means a small mistake on your part doesn't wipe out your claim.

Where to get help

Hit-and-run claims lean hard on your own insurer, and UM adjusters rarely volunteer the full value of what you're owed. If the injuries are serious, or the insurer is pushing back, a California attorney who handles these claims can make a real difference. You can start with the legal directory.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, "Fatal Hit-and-Run Crashes Reach Record High, AAA Foundation Study Finds" (2026). https://news.aaa-calif.com/news/fatal-hit-and-run-crashes-reach-record-high-aaa-foundation-study-finds

2. California Vehicle Code § 20001. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=20001.

3. California Vehicle Code § 20003. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=20003.

4. California Vehicle Code § 20004. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=20004.

5. California Vehicle Code § 20002. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=20002.

6. California Insurance Code § 11580.2. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=11580.2&lawCode=INS

7. California Highway Patrol, Collision Report (CHP 190). https://www.chp.ca.gov/notify-chp/collision-report-chp-190/

8. California Vehicle Code § 16000. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=16000.

9. California Vehicle Code § 16056. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=16056.

10. California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=335.1&lawCode=CCP

11. California Code of Civil Procedure § 338(c)(1). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=338.&lawCode=CCP

12. Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1139343/li-v-yellow-cab-co/