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

A plain-language guide to Maine's leaving-the-scene statutes: the exact duties, the Class C/D/E penalties, and how to get paid through uninsured motorist coverage when the driver is never found.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
May 20, 2026
6 min read

The other driver hit you and kept going. Maybe you caught a partial plate, maybe nothing at all. In Maine, that driver broke the law the second they left, and how serious the offense is depends on what they left behind.

Here's what Maine actually requires, what a fleeing driver faces, and how you can still recover when no one sticks around to trade information.

What the law required the other driver to do

Maine spreads the duty to stop across four statutes, and which one applies turns on what the crash damaged.

If anyone was hurt or killed, 29-A M.R.S. §2252 controls. The driver has to stop at the scene, or as close to it as possible and then return right away, stay there, and hand over their name, address, and vehicle registration number. They must show their license if asked and show evidence of insurance or financial responsibility. They also have to give reasonable assistance to anyone injured, which can mean calling for help or arranging a ride to a hospital.1

If the only damage was to another occupied vehicle, §2253 imposes the same stop-and-identify duties.2

When a driver hits an unattended car, a fence, a mailbox, or someone's animal, §2255 requires reasonable steps to find and notify the owner. If an animal is hurt and its owner can't be located, the driver has to report it to a law enforcement or animal control officer.3

Layered on top of all this, §2251 requires a report of any reportable accident, meaning one involving bodily injury, death, or apparent property damage of $2,000 or more, made immediately by the quickest available means to the State Police, the county sheriff, or local police.4 A driver who stops but never reports has still violated the law.

How Maine grades leaving the scene

The penalty scales with the harm done.

Walking away from a crash that hurt or killed someone is a Class D crime by default. It rises to a Class C crime when the driver intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly failed to stop and the crash caused death or serious bodily injury.1 Maine defines serious bodily injury as one that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, forces extended convalescence, or brings a substantial loss or impairment of a body part or organ.5

Those classes carry real exposure. A Class C conviction can bring up to 5 years in prison6 and a fine as high as $5,000.7 A Class D crime carries up to 364 days (the statute reads "less than one year")6 and up to $2,000.7 The lower-tier offenses, failing to notify after property damage under §2253 or §2255 and failing to report under §2251, are Class E crimes, punishable by up to 6 months6 and up to $1,000.7

There's a licensing consequence too. Under §2251, the Secretary of State may suspend or revoke the license and registration of a driver who fails to report or to give the required information.4

If you were hit and the driver took off

Get yourself and your passengers somewhere safe first, then call the police. A responding officer starts the paper trail every later claim leans on, and Maine's reporting rule kicks in with any injury or property damage of $2,000 or more.4

Write down whatever you saw while it's fresh: a partial plate, the color and make, the direction the car went, a dent or missing trim. Photograph your vehicle, the scene, and where everything came to rest before anything moves. Ask nearby drivers or pedestrians whether they saw it and take down their names. A number a witness half-remembers is often what lets police match a car to the crash.

Once the report is filed, you can order the official copy through the Maine State Police crash records system.8 We cover how to get a Maine crash report on its own page, so start there rather than chasing the process here.

Getting paid when the driver is never found

A driver who runs can leave you with medical bills and a wrecked car and no one to bill. Maine builds in a fallback.

Every auto policy issued in the state must include uninsured motorist coverage, and 24-A M.R.S. §2902 says in plain terms that this coverage reaches "hit-and-run motor vehicles."9 Your own UM coverage can stand in for the driver who fled, up to your limits. You can only cut UM below the liability limits you bought by signing a written rejection, and it can never drop under 50/100.9 Maine's minimum liability limits are 50/100/25.10

Your policy also carries at least $2,000 in medical payments coverage for costs you run up within a year of the crash, and you can't waive it on a standard personal auto policy.11 That money is there no matter who was at fault, which is exactly the situation when the other driver is a mystery.12

If your car lost market value even after a solid repair, that's a separate claim worth pursuing. Our Maine diminished value page walks through how it works.

One caveat on fault. Maine follows modified comparative negligence: you can still recover if you were partly to blame, with your damages cut by your share, but recovery is barred once your fault reaches that of the other party, under 14 M.R.S. §156.13 Being rear-ended or sideswiped by someone who fled rarely puts much blame on you, but expect the insurer to look for some.

Deadlines you can't miss

For a civil injury or property-damage suit, Maine gives you 6 years from the date of the crash under 14 M.R.S. §752.14 That's longer than most states allow, but it isn't breathing room. In a hit-and-run, identifying the driver is the whole fight, and camera footage, witness memory, and body-shop records fade fast.

The criminal case runs on its own clock. Prosecutors have 6 years to charge a Class C crime and 3 years for a Class D or E crime under 17-A M.R.S. §8.15 When police identify a driver weeks or months later, which happens through repair-shop tips and traffic cameras, those windows decide whether charges can still be filed.

Tell your own insurer promptly as well. UM claims often carry their own notice and cooperation deadlines inside the policy, and waiting hands the carrier a reason to push back.

Getting help

Hit-and-run claims turn on evidence you often can't gather alone, from private camera footage to matching a repair invoice to a police report. If you're weighing whether to bring in a lawyer, our legal directory lists attorneys who handle Maine crash claims.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. §2252, Accidents involving death or personal injury. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec2252.html

  2. Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. §2253, Accidents involving vehicle damage. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec2253.html

  3. Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. §2255, Accidents involving property damage. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec2255.html

  4. Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. §2251, Accident reports. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec2251.html

  5. Maine Legislature, 17-A M.R.S. §2(23), Definitions (serious bodily injury). https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/17-a/title17-Asec2.html

  6. Maine Legislature, 17-A M.R.S. §1604, Imprisonment for crimes other than murder. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-a/title17-Asec1604.html

  7. Maine Legislature, 17-A M.R.S. §1704, Maximum fine amounts authorized for convicted individuals. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec1704.html

  8. Maine State Police, Maine Crash Reporting Online Search and Ordering Service. https://apps1.web.maine.gov/online/mcrs/index.html

  9. Maine Legislature, 24-A M.R.S. §2902, Uninsured vehicle coverage. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/24-a/title24-Asec2902.html

  10. Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. §1605, Required insurance and minimum coverage limits. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1605.html

  11. Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. §1605-A, Medical payments coverage. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1605-A.html

  12. Maine Bureau of Insurance, A Consumer's Guide to Personal Auto Insurance. https://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance/sites/maine.gov.pfr.insurance/files/inline-files/12.6.24Consumers%20Guide%20to%20Personal%20Auto%20Insurance.pdf

  13. Maine Legislature, 14 M.R.S. §156, Comparative negligence. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec156.html

  14. Maine Legislature, 14 M.R.S. §752, Six-year limitation on civil actions. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec752.html

  15. Maine Legislature, 17-A M.R.S. §8, Statute of limitations. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-a/title17-Asec8.html

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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