What to Do After a Hit-and-Run in Pennsylvania

If you were behind the wheel of a car during an accident and caused property damage, injury, or death, you’re legally required to stop at the scene of the crash, or as close to it as possible, and remain there until you’ve exchanged information with the other driver and have rendered aid. Otherwise, it can be considered a hit-and-run.

You should exchange the following information:

• Name
• Address
• Vehicle registration number
• Driver’s license number
• Insurance information

If you’re unable to exchange information with the other party, like if they are unconscious, give your information to the police once law enforcement arrives. Note that your duty to render aid means you must give “reasonable assistance” to any injured party.

You’re also required to immediately report to the police any accident that includes injury, death, or damage to a vehicle that requires towing “by the quickest means of communication.” For all other accidents, report them to the police within five days of the accident using the form at https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/PubsForms/Forms/AA-600.pdf.

Send the form to the following mailing address:

• PA Department of Transportation, Bureau of Highway Safety & Traffic Engineering
• P.O. Box 2047
• Harrisburg, PA 17105-2047¹

But what happens if you hit an unattended vehicle? In that case, you’re required to try to locate and notify the owner to exchange information, but if you can’t find them, you must attach a note on the vehicle in a conspicuous place with details of the crash, including the time and date, along with your contact information (typically a telephone number). Then, you must notify the police “without necessary delay.”

Failing to take the above actions could constitute a hit-and-run. But while that’s where your immediate legal obligations technically end, we also recommend doing the following:

• Seek medical attention. If the accident results in injury, seek medical attention immediately.
• Gather evidence. Take pictures of the damages, speak to witnesses who can support your case or may have seen the crash, and note the weather, time of day, road conditions, and any other information you can use in your insurance claim.
• Get a copy of your police report. Having a police report for your claim will bolster your evidence of the incident. You can request a copy of your police report after 15 days from the date of the crash at a cost of $22. Either search for your crash report online (https://www.pa.gov/psp/crash-reports/home) or mail your request using the form at https://www.psp.pa.gov/Documents/Public%20Documents/SP_7-0015.pdf to:
  • Attention: Crash Reports Unit
  • 1800 Elmerton Avenue
  • Harrisburg, PA 17110²

In Pennsylvania, you must stop at the scene of the accident, render aid, exchange information, and, in some cases, report the accident to the police. If you fail to do so, here are the penalties, as written in the Pennsylvania Statutes Chapter 37 C.³

You’ll face the least penalties for a hit-and-run that resulted in property damage only, but you’ll still be punished for leaving the scene and failing to contact the police within five days.

Pennsylvania defines a serious injury as a bodily injury that:

• Creates a substantial risk of death
• Causes serious, permanent disfigurement
• Causes a protected loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ or member⁴

Now let’s flip the scenario, where you’re the victim instead of the perpetrator. If someone hits your car and drives away, how do you get compensated for your losses?

Insurance

If you can’t figure out who hit you (for example, if someone hit your parked car and fled the scene), you can file a first-party claim with your insurance provider under medical payments, collision coverage, or uninsured motorist coverage. Out of these coverages, only $5,000 worth of medical payments is mandatory. If you lack the other coverages, you’ll have to pay for your property damage out of pocket.

However, if you are able to identify the person who hit you, you can get compensated via their liability insurance for your and your passengers’ property damage and bodily injuries.

Your car insurance can be affected due to a hit-and-run, regardless of whether you were the offending party or the victim.

Your car insurance in Pennsylvania will increase in price by an average of 93 percent following a hit-and-run accident, assuming you filed a first-party claim. However, if you identified the driver who hit you and filed a third-party claim, your insurance won’t increase at all. Meanwhile, if you were the perpetrator and the victim filed a third-party claim with your insurance, you should expect your rates to rise.

We looked at the Fatality Analysis Reporting System from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to analyze fatal hit-and-runs in the Keystone State.

From 2011 to 2021, there were over 500 fatal hit-and-run car crashes in Pennsylvania, an average of 46 per year. Altogether, hit-and-runs comprised 4 percent of all fatal car crashes.

Forty-one percent of fatal hit-and-runs in 2021 involved a driver with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher, meaning they were driving under the influence of alcohol. Speeding was involved in 23 percent of all fatal hit-and-runs in the same year, while distracted and drowsy drivers were less common.

Of the fatal hit-and-runs in which the ages of the involved drivers were known, the plurality (28 percent) were between the ages of 35 and 44.

Of the involved drivers in which their sex was known, 83 percent were male.

Although fleeing an at-fault accident may be tempting, if you are caught, you can face fines, imprisonment, or both. It’s best to stop at the scene of the crash and comply with Pennsylvania’s laws. Although your car insurance premium might double post-accident, you won’t face any legal penalties or imprisonment if you adhere to the state’s vehicle code.