Hit and Run Charges in Texas: Penalties, SR-22, and CDL

Hit and run charges in Texas run from a small fine for a scraped bumper to a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison when someone dies at the scene. The exact charge depends on two things: what happened in the crash (property damage only, injury, serious injury, or death) and which of the duties under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550 the driver failed to meet before leaving.

Penalties When Only Property Is Damaged

If no one is hurt and the only issue is a damaged vehicle or object, the charge is a misdemeanor. One dollar figure sets the level: $200 in total damage.

The same thresholds apply whether the vehicle was occupied, parked and unattended, or whether the driver struck a fence, guardrail, mailbox, or landscaping.⁴⁵ That $200 line is low enough that almost any modern collision clears it. In practice, nearly all property-damage hit and runs end up charged as Class B misdemeanors, with repair estimates and insurance adjuster reports used to pin down the number.

Penalties When Someone Is Hurt or Killed

Once any person is injured, the offense moves under Section 550.021 and the stakes climb sharply. Texas sorts these cases into three tiers.

Non-Serious Bodily Injury

If the victim’s injuries do not meet the “serious bodily injury” standard (soft-tissue damage, minor fractures, cuts needing stitches), the offense carries a unique punishment range: up to five years in state prison or up to one year in county jail, plus a fine of up to $5,000, or both.⁶ Most injury hit and run cases land here, because most crash injuries fall short of the serious-injury threshold.

Serious Bodily Injury

Injuries that create a substantial risk of death, cause permanent disfigurement, or result in long-term loss of a bodily organ or function bump the charge to a third-degree felony.⁶ The punishment is two to ten years in state prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000.⁷ The two-year mandatory minimum makes probation-only outcomes harder to negotiate at this level.

Death

Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a second-degree felony: two to twenty years in prison, with a possible fine of up to $10,000.⁶⁸ Fault for the collision does not matter. Even if the other driver ran a red light and bears full responsibility for the wreck itself, leaving before stopping, checking for injuries, and providing information converts the incident into a felony. The statute punishes the leaving, not the crashing.

What Counts as Leaving the Scene

A hit and run charge always traces back to a specific duty the driver skipped. If anyone might be injured or killed, Section 550.021 requires the driver to stop immediately, return to the scene if already past it, check whether anyone needs help, and stay long enough to meet the obligations in Section 550.023.⁶ Those obligations: give your name, address, vehicle registration number, and insurance company to anyone hurt or to the other driver or occupants; show your license on request; and provide reasonable aid, which can mean calling an ambulance or driving an injured person to a hospital when treatment appears necessary or the person asks for it.⁹

For damage to an occupied vehicle with no injuries, Section 550.022 imposes similar stop-and-exchange duties.¹ For an unattended vehicle, Section 550.024 requires the driver to stop and either find the owner or leave a written note in a visible spot with name, address, and a description of what happened.⁴ Hitting a fence, guardrail, mailbox, or landscaping triggers Section 550.025 and the duty to take reasonable steps to find and notify the owner.⁵ Missing any one of these steps is enough to turn the accident into a criminal charge.

License Suspension and SR-22

A conviction under Section 550.021 triggers an automatic license suspension through the Texas Department of Public Safety, separate from whatever the criminal court does. A first offense means a one-year suspension; a second or subsequent offense runs 18 months.¹⁰ The suspension applies even if the criminal court grants probation or deferred adjudication.

Reinstatement requires paying a fee of $100 for most suspension types, or $125 for certain revocation-related actions.¹¹ It also requires filing and maintaining an SR-22 insurance certificate, which proves at least state-minimum liability coverage, for two full years from the date of conviction. A single lapse can trigger additional enforcement and restart the clock.¹²

During a suspension, you can petition a justice, county, or district court for an occupational driver’s license to drive to work, school, medical appointments, and essential errands. Getting one requires a court order, an SR-22 filing, all reinstatement fees, and a $10 issuance fee.¹³ The order spells out when and where you can drive, and the license cannot be used for a commercial vehicle.¹⁴

If You Hold a CDL

For commercial drivers, leaving the scene is classified as a “major offense” under federal regulations. A first conviction results in at least a one-year disqualification from operating any commercial motor vehicle, which rises to three years if the vehicle was carrying placarded hazardous materials.¹⁵ A second major offense (any combination of leaving the scene, DUI, refusing a breath test, or using a commercial vehicle to commit a felony) results in a lifetime disqualification, with a possible reduction to ten years under certain conditions.¹⁶ An occupational license is no help here, because Texas does not allow it to cover commercial driving.¹⁴

Restitution and Civil Exposure

Beyond fines and prison, a Texas judge can order a convicted driver to pay restitution directly to the victim. Restitution covers property damage based on value at the time of loss and expenses the victim incurred because of the offense, including medical bills. If the victim died, restitution goes to the estate. In some cases, a defendant can satisfy the order through services instead of cash, if the victim or estate agrees.

Restitution is separate from any civil lawsuit. A hit and run victim can pursue both criminal restitution through the prosecutor and a separate personal injury claim for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and potentially punitive damages. A criminal conviction often strengthens the civil case considerably.

What the Prosecution Has to Prove

Every offense in Chapter 550 begins with “the operator of a vehicle involved in a collision,” and the criminal penalty attaches only when a person “does not stop or does not comply.”⁶ That built-in knowledge requirement is the most common defense. A driver who genuinely did not realize a collision happened, because road noise masked the impact, weather obscured visibility, or the contact felt like a pothole, has a viable defense, and the prosecution must prove awareness beyond a reasonable doubt.

Other defenses turn on specific facts. A driver who left briefly to get emergency help for a critically injured passenger and returned promptly can argue compliance with the spirit of the statute. If the driver claims to have stopped and exchanged information but the other party disagrees, the case becomes a credibility fight. In serious injury and death cases, where a conviction can mean a decade or more in prison, those factual disputes are worth fighting hard.

1
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 550.022 – Collision Involving Damage to Vehicle
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 550.024 – Collision Involving Unattended Vehicle
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 550.025 – Collision Involving Fixture or Landscaping
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 550.021 – Collision Involving Personal Injury or Death
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 550.023 – Duty to Give Information and Render Aid
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 521.341 – Requirements for Automatic License Suspension
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Texas Department of Public Safety. Section 7 – Reinstatement Fees and Special Licenses
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Texas Department of Public Safety. Section 9 – SR-22 Proof of Financial Responsibility
13
Legal Information Institute. 37 Texas Administrative Code 15.7 – Occupational License
14
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 521.242 – Eligibility
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 31310 – Disqualifications
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eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers