Hit and Run Accidents: What To Do When the Driver Flees

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A collision ends and the other vehicle accelerates away, leaving a damaged car, a possible injury, and no license plate to write down. Georgia treats the departure as a crime, and when the driver is not identified it provides a claim under the injured person’s own uninsured motorist coverage, on conditions the statute states: a report to law enforcement, and either physical contact or an eyewitness other than the claimant. If the driver is found, the flight itself can support punitive damages.

The Duty to Stop

“The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or the death of any person or in damage to a vehicle which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of the accident or shall stop as close thereto as possible and forthwith return to the scene of the accident.” The driver must give a name, address, and registration number; exhibit an operator’s license on request if it is available; render reasonable assistance, including transporting or arranging transport of an injured person; and, if an injured person is unconscious or unable to communicate, “make every reasonable effort to ensure that emergency medical services and local law enforcement are contacted” (OCGA 40-6-270(a)). The driver “shall in every event remain at the scene of the accident until fulfilling the requirements of this subsection.”

The penalty depends on the harm. “If such accident is the proximate cause of death or a serious injury, any person knowingly failing to stop and comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony,” punishable by imprisonment “for not less than one nor more than five years” (OCGA 40-6-270(b)). If the accident causes an injury other than a serious injury, or damages a vehicle driven or attended by a person, a knowing failure is a misdemeanor punishable, on a first conviction, by a fine of $300 to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both (OCGA 40-6-270(c)(1)(A)).

The Duty to Report

The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death, or in property damage “to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more,” “shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of such accident to the local police department if such accident occurs within a municipality,” and otherwise to the county sheriff or the nearest state patrol office (OCGA 40-6-273). That duty belongs to the driver, and the uninsured motorist statute separately makes a report a condition of the injured person’s own recovery.

When the Driver Is Not Found

A motor vehicle “shall be deemed to be uninsured if the owner or operator of the motor vehicle is unknown,” and recovery is then subject to conditions. The first is contact: “actual physical contact shall have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured. Such physical contact shall not be required if the description by the claimant of how the occurrence occurred is corroborated by an eyewitness to the occurrence other than the claimant” (OCGA 33-7-11(b)(2)). The second is a report: the insured, or someone on the insured’s behalf, “shall report the accident as required by Code Section 40-6-273” (OCGA 33-7-11(c)). Suit may proceed against the unknown driver as “John Doe,” and the injured person’s insurer is served with the action and the pleadings in the same way it would be if it had been sued by name (OCGA 33-7-11(d)).

Three decisions show what each condition takes in practice:

  • Proving the unknown driver was at fault. In Dawkins v. Doe, 263 Ga. App. 737 (2003), the Court of Appeals affirmed for the insurer because “the appellant has produced neither evidence showing that the John Doe driver was negligent nor evidence showing that such driver was the proximate cause.”
  • Corroboration without contact. In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Yancey, 188 Ga. App. 8 (1988), the court held that a witness’s testimony “sufficiently corroborated” the claimant’s account under OCGA 33-7-11(b)(2).
  • Where to sue. In Carpenter v. McMann, 304 Ga. 209 (2018), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the venue provision of OCGA 33-7-11(d)(1) applies in a suit against a known resident driver and a John Doe defendant.

When the Driver Is Found

Flight can matter to the damages. In Langlois v. Wolford, 246 Ga. App. 209 (2000), a driver who had been drinking sideswiped another vehicle and left the scene, and the jury returned a general verdict of $3,500 plus $300,000 in punitive damages where the plaintiff’s medical specials were $643. The Court of Appeals, relying also on the evidence of the driver’s intoxication, reasoned that Georgia criminalizes leaving the scene because public policy requires a party to an accident to stop and render aid regardless of who caused it, held that leaving without speaking to the other party was an intentional and culpable act that permitted the jury to consider punitive damages, and affirmed. Punitive damages require clear and convincing proof (OCGA 51-12-5.1(b)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Are repeat hit-and-run convictions punished more severely?
For the misdemeanor offense, a second conviction within five years carries a fine of $600 to $1,000, and a third or later conviction within five years a fine of $1,000, each with up to 12 months of imprisonment or both; the fines cannot be suspended, stayed, or probated, and earlier nolo contendere pleas within the period count as convictions (OCGA 40-6-270(c)(1)(B), (C)).

Can the injured person’s insurer defend the John Doe suit?
Yes. The insurance company has the right to file pleadings and take other action allowed by law in the name of “John Doe” or in its own name (OCGA 33-7-11(d)).

What if the driver is found but has no insurance?
When a known owner or operator is sued and there is a reasonable belief that the vehicle is uninsured, a copy of the action and all pleadings must be served on the claimant’s insurer as though it were named as a defendant (OCGA 33-7-11(d)).

Does the claimant’s own account satisfy the eyewitness rule?
No. The exception to physical contact requires corroboration by an eyewitness to the occurrence other than the claimant (OCGA 33-7-11(b)(2)).

  • OCGA 40-6-270(a), (b), (c)(1); OCGA 40-6-273
  • OCGA 33-7-11(b)(2), (c), (d); Dawkins v. Doe, 263 Ga. App. 737 (2003); State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Yancey, 188 Ga. App. 8 (1988); Carpenter v. McMann, 304 Ga. 209 (2018)
  • Langlois v. Wolford, 246 Ga. App. 209 (2000); OCGA 51-12-5.1(b)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about hit and run accidents under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Recovery depends on the report made, the evidence of the other vehicle, the insurance in place, and the specific facts. A person injured in a hit and run accident should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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