What to Do After a Hit-and-Run Accident in California

Put safety before identifying the driver

Do not chase the departing vehicle or stand in traffic to photograph it. Call 911 for injuries, immediate danger, or an emergency. Give your location, direction of travel, nearby exit or intersection, and what happened. CHP's emergency guidance asks callers for location and descriptions of vehicles, people, and injuries.

Follow the dispatcher's instructions. Seek medical attention for injuries and explain how the collision happened. If you discover damage later and there is no emergency, contact the appropriate agency through its nonemergency reporting route. Keep the time you discovered the damage separate from the time you believe the collision occurred.

Write down details without filling in gaps

As soon as you can safely do so, record your own observations before discussing theories with others:

• Full or partial plate, issuing state, and which characters you are uncertain about.
• Vehicle color, body type, distinguishing damage, stickers, or commercial markings.
• Where the vehicle went, including direction and the last intersection or exit you saw.
• The sequence of impact, vehicle positions, weather, and visibility.
• Witness names and contact details, with what each person says they observed.

Label estimates and secondhand information. A witness's independent account should remain their account. Give identifying leads to investigators rather than contacting a suspected driver yourself.

Preserve evidence before it changes

Photograph vehicle damage, debris, the wider scene, and relevant signs from a safe location. Preserve original dashcam files and make a separate backup. Keep a note of the recording device and whether its displayed clock appears accurate. Avoid replacing originals with only screenshots or edited clips.

Ask nearby businesses or property managers promptly whether relevant footage exists and how to request preservation. Give a narrow location and time window. A visible camera does not establish that it recorded the crash or that footage can be released to you.

Before cleaning damage or authorizing work, photograph the condition and ask the insurer or investigator about inspection needs. Do not delay urgent safety measures. Our camera evidence guide explains how to organize a preservation request.

Separate police reporting from DMV reporting

Vehicle Code section 20008 generally requires a driver involved in an injury or fatal collision to make or arrange a written report within 24 hours to CHP or, for a city collision, that city's police. Common carriers have separate rules. Section 20010 addresses reporting by an occupant when the driver is physically incapable.

Ask the responding agency what it has recorded and whether further reporting is needed. Save the incident number. Requesting an existing report is a separate step; use our CHP report guide if CHP investigated.

A DMV SR-1 is generally due within 10 days for a qualifying crash causing injury, death, or more than $1,000 damage to any one person's property, regardless of fault. Police and insurance reports do not replace it. Vehicle Code sections 16000 through 16003 contain exceptions and special rules, including certain government vehicles, off-highway incidents, and employer vehicles. Check these if applicable.

Notify the insurer and check hit-and-run injury conditions

The California Department of Insurance recommends immediate notice to your insurer. Explain that the driver left, identify what remains unknown, and ask for written instructions and the applicable policy provisions. Do not wait for a completed police report.

For uninsured-motorist bodily injury involving an unknown owner or driver, Insurance Code section 11580.2(b) includes physical-contact conditions, a report within 24 hours to city police or, in unincorporated territory, the county sheriff or local CHP, and a supporting statement under oath filed with the insurer within 30 days thereafter.

A routine claim call should not be assumed to satisfy the sworn-statement requirement. Coverage, applicable exceptions, and disputed contact or notice facts need individual review. If a period may have passed, seek advice promptly rather than assuming the claim is automatically lost.

Ask separately about vehicle damage and medical expenses

Uninsured-motorist injury coverage and vehicle-damage coverage are different. Insurance Code section 11580.26(b) conditions the specified uninsured-motorist property-damage and collision-deductible coverages on direct physical contact and identification of the owner or driver, or identification of the vehicle by its license number. It also includes notice to the insurer or agent within 10 business days. A plate alone does not establish fault or uninsured status.

Ask about collision coverage for vehicle repairs and medical-payments coverage for injuries, if purchased. Deductibles, limits, exclusions, and other conditions matter. The Department of Insurance's auto coverage guide explains these categories. Do not assume every hit-and-run loss has the same coverage.

Keep a record of the next steps

Use one log for police contacts, insurer communications, medical visits, evidence requests, and expenses. Record what was submitted, when, and any response. The accident document organizer can help keep those materials together.

Give new evidence to the assigned investigator and insurer through their requested channels. A claim number or ongoing investigation does not by itself resolve every deadline. Get individual legal advice about injury claims, disputed coverage, and any required formal action.