Hit and Run in San Antonio: Penalties, Reporting, and Recovery

A hit and run in San Antonio is a criminal offense under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550, with consequences that scale from a $500 fine for a minor parking lot scrape to twenty years in prison when someone dies. If you’re the victim, your path to compensation usually runs through your own insurance policy and, in some cases, the state’s crime victims’ fund. If you’re the driver facing charges, the penalty tier depends almost entirely on whether anyone was hurt and how badly.

What Texas Law Requires After a Crash

Every driver involved in a collision that causes injury, death, or damage to an occupied vehicle has to stop at the scene or as close to it as possible without blocking traffic further. You then have to share your name, address, vehicle registration number, and auto liability insurer with anyone injured and with the driver, occupants, or attendant of any other vehicle involved.1State of Texas. Texas Code Transportation Code Chapter 550 – Collisions and Collision Reports

When someone is hurt, you also have to provide reasonable aid, including arranging transportation to a hospital if treatment appears necessary or the injured person asks for it. Skipping any of these steps turns a traffic accident into a crime.1State of Texas. Texas Code Transportation Code Chapter 550 – Collisions and Collision Reports

Criminal Penalties by Severity

Vehicle Damage Only

If no one is hurt and total vehicle damage is under $200, leaving the scene is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.2State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.022 – Collision Involving Damage to Vehicle3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor Once total damage reaches $200 or more, it becomes a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

Injury or Death

Penalties climb sharply once a person is hurt. Section 550.021 creates three tiers:

The non-serious injury tier surprises people. Fleeing a fender-bender where the other driver later reports whiplash is not a misdemeanor; it exposes the driver to years of incarceration without any requirement of serious bodily injury.1State of Texas. Texas Code Transportation Code Chapter 550 – Collisions and Collision Reports

Parked Cars and Fixed Objects

Hitting an unattended vehicle and driving off without leaving a note is also a crime. You have to either track down the owner and give them your information or leave a clearly visible written note on the vehicle with your name, address, vehicle information, and a description of what happened.6State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.024 – Duty on Striking Unattended Vehicle The same duty applies when you damage a fence, structure, or landscaping along a highway.7State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.025 – Duty on Striking Highway Fixture or Landscaping Both follow the same misdemeanor structure as vehicle-damage-only crashes.

Reporting a Hit and Run in San Antonio

Call 911 right away if anyone is injured. For property-damage-only crashes where the other driver fled, use the San Antonio Police Department’s non-emergency line or walk into a police substation to file a report. If the crash happened in an unincorporated part of Bexar County, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office takes the report. Either way, get a report number. You will need it for every claim that follows.

Texas historically required drivers to file a Driver’s Crash Report (Form CR-2) with TxDOT within ten days when no officer responded and the crash involved injury, death, or at least $1,000 in property damage.8Texas Department of Transportation. Instructions for Driver’s Crash Report TxDOT stopped accepting the CR-2 in September 2017, and all previously submitted forms have been destroyed under its records-retention policy.9Texas Department of Transportation. Crash Reports and Records File directly with SAPD or the Sheriff’s Office and keep copies of everything.

Evidence That Can Identify the Driver

Write down or photograph any partial license plate, the vehicle’s make, model, color, and the direction it headed. Dashcam footage is often the strongest evidence in a hit-and-run case, so pull the file before it gets overwritten.

Nearby businesses with security cameras and city traffic cameras can also help. Surveillance footage and other police records can be requested through the City of San Antonio’s Public Records Center under the Texas Public Information Act.10City of San Antonio. Police Open Records Requests Include the exact date, time, and location. Footage tied to an active criminal investigation may be withheld until the case closes.

If you caught a plate number, don’t try to look up the owner yourself. The federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act bars the Texas DMV from giving personal information from vehicle records to the public.11Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s Privacy Protection Act Pass the plate to the investigating officer.

Getting Paid When the Driver Is Gone

When the other driver vanishes, your own policy is usually the only realistic source of compensation.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Texas law requires every auto liability insurer to include uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage unless the named insured rejected it in writing.12State of Texas. Texas Insurance Code Section 1952.101 If you never signed a rejection, you probably have it. UM pays for medical bills, lost income, and vehicle damage caused by an unidentified or uninsured driver.

There is a catch. Texas generally requires actual physical contact between the unknown vehicle and your car or body before UM pays out on a hit-and-run claim. If a phantom driver forced you off the road without ever touching your vehicle, the insurer can deny the claim under this rule.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) covers your medical expenses and 80% of your lost wages regardless of fault and regardless of whether the other car ever touched yours.13Office of Public Insurance Counsel. Understanding PIP vs Med-Pay Insurers have to offer it, but you can decline it, so check your declarations page. PIP often fills the gap when a UM claim fails the contact test.

Crime Victims’ Compensation

If you were physically hurt, the Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Program administered by the Attorney General’s office can help with costs that insurance and other benefits don’t cover, including medical treatment, counseling, lost wages, and funeral expenses.14Office of the Attorney General. Crime Victims’ Compensation Program

Report the crime to law enforcement within 72 hours. For adult victims, missing that window can disqualify you, though exceptions exist for child victims. You also have to cooperate with the investigation and cannot have been at fault.15Office of the Attorney General. Crime Victims’ Compensation Eligibility – Find Out If You Qualify The maximum payout is $50,000 per victim, and the program pays only after insurance and other government benefits.16Office of the Attorney General. Crime Victims’ Compensation Program Overview

Two Years to File a Civil Lawsuit

If the driver is eventually identified through a police investigation, a witness, or surveillance video, you can sue them. Texas gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or property damage suit under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003.17State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 – Two-Year Limitations Period

The clock starts on the day of the collision, not the day the driver is identified. If police find the driver 18 months later, you have six months left. For wrongful death, the two years run from the date of death.17State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 – Two-Year Limitations Period Limited exceptions exist for minors and people who lacked legal capacity at the time of the crash. For everyone else, miss the deadline and the right to sue is gone, no matter how strong the case.