This article provides general information and recommendations, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, deadlines, policy terms, and available options depend on the facts. Readers may wish to consult a qualified attorney about their circumstances.
A hit-and-run can leave you frightened, angry and unsure what to do first. You may be hurt, your car may not be drivable, and the person who caused the crash is gone. If you can do so safely, move out of danger, call 911 for an emergency and do not chase the fleeing driver. Your safety comes before a plate number or photograph.
Once the immediate danger has passed, record what you remember, look for witnesses and possible cameras, seek appropriate medical care, make any required reports and notify your insurer under the policy. California law and unknown-driver uninsured-motorist rules can involve separate 24-hour, 10-day and 30-day requirements. One report does not necessarily satisfy the others.
In the first few minutes, protect yourself
Following the other vehicle can cause another collision or put you in an unsafe confrontation. Remaining at or near the scene may be appropriate unless safety or medical needs require leaving. Evidence collection should not involve stepping into traffic or delaying emergency care.
If it is safe, write down or photograph:
- Any part of the license plate.
- The vehicle’s color, make, model and visible damage.
- What the driver looked like.
- The direction the vehicle traveled.
- The crash time and exact location.
- Damage, debris or paint transfer.
- Names and contact information for witnesses.
- Businesses, homes, apartment entrances, parking areas or vehicles with cameras facing the scene.
Details can be hard to hold onto after a stressful event. A quick voice note on your phone may help if writing is difficult.
Which crash reports may be required?
Calling 911 is appropriate for an emergency or immediate danger. For a nonemergency collision report, it may be useful to contact the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction for its current reporting method and to retain the incident or report number and a copy of any submission.
California’s reporting rules serve different purposes:
- Vehicle Code sections 20001 and 20003 require a driver involved in a crash causing injury to another person or death to stop immediately, provide specified identifying information and render reasonable assistance. These duties do not establish that an injured person will receive insurance benefits or compensation.
- For a non-common-carrier driver involved in an injury or death accident, Vehicle Code section 20008 requires a written report within 24 hours to CHP or, when the crash occurred within a city, to CHP or that city’s police department. The statute has a different rule for common carriers.
- In a property-damage-only crash, Vehicle Code section 20002 requires an involved driver to stop at the nearest place that will not impede traffic or jeopardize safety and exchange specified information. If the owner or person in charge of damaged property cannot be found, the section requires written notice and prompt notification to city police or, in unincorporated territory, the local CHP headquarters.
A 911 call, an officer’s response or notice to an insurer may not replace a required written law-enforcement report or DMV filing.
Getting an LAPD report is different from reporting the crash
If LAPD took the report, keep the DR or incident number. Its traffic collision report page explains how authorized people can request a copy online or by mail. Reports involving an arrest, a fatality or a juvenile must be requested by mail.
LAPD currently asks people to allow at least 45 days before trying to obtain a copy online. That is a records-release instruction, not a reason to delay reporting the hit-and-run or contacting your insurer. Use the agency name and report number to track the copy request separately from your other reporting tasks.
The DMV 10 day SR 1 reporting rule
The California DMV’s current SR-1 instructions state that the driver, an insurance agent or broker, or a legal representative must send an SR-1 within 10 days if anyone was injured or killed, or if damage to the property of any one person exceeded $1,000.
The SR-1 is separate from reports to police, CHP or an insurer. Vehicle Code section 16000 contains an exception for an involved vehicle owned or leased by, or under the direction of, specified government entities. Case-specific advice may be useful if that exception could apply.
Health and household considerations
If you are hurt or worried about your condition, consider care from a qualified professional based on what you are experiencing; calling 911 is appropriate for a medical emergency. Accurate information about how the crash happened and when symptoms appeared may assist providers.
Discharge papers, referrals, prescriptions, work notes, and bills may be worth retaining. These records can document what you reported, when you sought care and what treatment you received. They do not decide legal causation by themselves, but they may become important later, especially if pain or appointments keep you from working or caring for family.
Potential video evidence and retention
A prompt list of nearby cameras may help identify possible footage. A business, apartment entrance, parking facility, home or vehicle may have recorded the street. The possibility of a nearby camera does not establish that it existed, faced the crash, or retained footage.
Retention practices vary. A lawyer may request that identified footage be preserved, but a request cannot guarantee that a recording exists, will be retained or will be produced. If possible, keeping copies of personal photos, dashcam files, and messages in more than one place may reduce the risk of loss.
Los Angeles: find the agency and the cameras
Providence’s first hit-and-run review separates three tasks: identify the investigating agency, preserve video along the vehicle’s likely path, and examine every potentially applicable policy. LAPD, CHP, LASD, and other municipal agencies maintain different records. Nearby businesses, transit vehicles, residences, and dashcams may have footage, but retention periods vary. The firm’s car accident, pedestrian accident, and bicycle accident pages explain related claim types.
Communicating accurately with an insurer
Consider promptly reviewing the policy’s notice and cooperation terms and asking whether the policy includes coverage that may be relevant, such as bodily-injury UM, medical payments, collision or rental coverage. None of those coverages should be assumed to have been purchased or to apply.
Be truthful with every insurer. If you do not know the driver’s speed, your full injury picture or exactly how the impact happened, say that you do not know rather than speculating. Whether a recorded statement is required depends on the policy and circumstances. The guide on what not to say to an insurance adjuster offers a fuller checklist.
What conditions may apply to unknown-driver UM coverage?
When the other driver cannot be identified, uninsured-motorist coverage may provide bodily-injury coverage only if the policy and California’s statutory conditions are satisfied.
Under Insurance Code section 11580.2, bodily injury must arise from physical contact between the unidentified automobile and the insured or an automobile the insured occupied. The statute also requires:
1. A report within 24 hours by the insured or someone acting for the insured to city police or, in unincorporated territory, the county sheriff or local CHP.
2. A sworn statement filed with the insurer within the statute’s 30-day period. It must state that the insured or the insured’s legal representative has a cause of action arising from the crash against a person whose identity cannot be determined and set out the supporting facts.
Policy terms, insured status, limits, exclusions and any qualifying written deletion or reduction of coverage still matter. The bodily-injury coverage in section 11580.2 does not cover property damage. Collision or another purchased coverage may raise a separate vehicle-damage question. For more detail, read California UM and UIM coverage.
If the driver is later identified, ownership, permission, work use and available insurance may affect the analysis. Identifying the driver does not guarantee that another defendant or policy exists.
Camera and witness follow-up sheet
After you are safe and immediate care is addressed, use a paper copy to track leads without mixing them with completed reports. Start with the crash time, exact location and direction the fleeing vehicle traveled. Mark uncertain details as unknown.
| Lead | What to record privately |
|---|---|
| Possible camera | Location, apparent viewing direction, possible operator and the time range you want reviewed. |
| Witness | Contact information already provided, where the person stood and what they said they saw. |
| Follow-up | Who was contacted, when, what was requested and the response. Distinguish asking to preserve footage from receiving a copy. |
| File received | Filename, source, date received and where the original and backup are kept. |
A nearby camera does not mean usable footage exists. Keep unanswered requests marked pending rather than treating them as proof that nothing was recorded.
Keep police-report information, any DMV submission and insurer correspondence in separate folders. This sheet does not complete a report, meet an insurance condition or calculate a deadline.
Sources and references
When you need help with the next step
Medical appointments, missed work, repairs, worried family members and insurer calls can quickly fill the day after a hit-and-run. You can take the next step without deciding the entire claim today.
Call Providence Trial Lawyers at 213-380-5858 for a free consultation and ask whether the firm can review your particular matter. Providence is available 24/7. Matter acceptance depends on the facts and the firm’s current intake criteria. No outcome, insurance benefit or compensation is guaranteed, and the choice to move forward remains yours. No fee unless we win.
