Hit and Run Under the Washington RCW: Penalties, Revocation, Defenses

Under Washington hit and run laws, every driver involved in a collision has to stop, share identifying information, and help anyone who’s hurt — and leaving before doing so is a crime whether the crash dented a parked car, injured a pedestrian, or killed someone. The charge can be anything from a simple misdemeanor to a Class B felony carrying up to ten years in prison, and a conviction brings automatic license revocation on top of fines and jail.

What the Law Requires You to Do at the Scene

Two statutes set the duties. RCW 46.52.020 governs crashes involving injury, death, or any attended vehicle or property. RCW 46.52.010 covers collisions with unattended property.

For a crash with another person present, you must stop immediately — at the scene or as close to it as you safely can — and stay there until you’ve done everything the statute requires.¹ If no one is hurt, the law tells you to move your vehicle off the roadway, shoulders, and median to a safe location like an exit ramp shoulder, frontage road, or nearest cross street, but you must remain at that location to finish your duties.²

Once stopped, give the other driver, any injured person, or any occupant of the other vehicle your name, address, insurance company name, policy number, and vehicle license plate number. Show your driver’s license on request. If someone is injured, you also have to provide reasonable assistance, including arranging transportation to a doctor or hospital when treatment is obviously needed or when the injured person asks for it.¹ These duties apply even if the other driver caused the crash.

For unattended property — a parked car, a mailbox, a fence, a guardrail — the duties are narrower but still mandatory. Stop, try to find the owner, and give them your name and address and the vehicle owner’s name and address. If you can’t find anyone after a reasonable effort, leave a written note with that same information in a visible spot on the damaged property.³ This is where parking-lot drivers most often get in trouble. Clipping a bumper and driving off because no one was around is a misdemeanor; leaving a note is not.

Penalties by Severity of the Crash

Washington sorts hit-and-run offenses into four levels based on what the crash caused.

Automatic License Revocation

Any conviction for failing to stop and provide information or render aid after a crash involving an attended vehicle, injury, or death triggers a mandatory license revocation by the Department of Licensing.² The judge has no discretion to waive it. The rule reaches out-of-state drivers too: their nonresident driving privileges in Washington are revoked. Getting a license back requires meeting DOL’s reinstatement conditions, which typically include fees and, for felony convictions, completing court-ordered terms first.

“I Didn’t Know I Hit Anything” and Other Defenses

Hit-and-run in Washington is not a strict-liability crime. The prosecution has to prove the driver was knowingly involved in the accident, meaning they were aware, or reasonably should have been aware, that a collision occurred.⁷ That knowledge element is the foundation of the most common defense: the driver genuinely didn’t realize a crash had happened. A minor sideswipe on a loud highway can plausibly go unnoticed; a rollover or a pedestrian strike cannot.

Other defenses sometimes arise from leaving the scene to seek emergency medical care for yourself or a passenger, or being physically unable to stop because of a sudden medical event like a seizure or heart attack. In those situations, the defendant usually needs to show they contacted law enforcement or returned to the scene as soon as possible. Driving home and hoping nobody noticed does not qualify.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

The window depends on severity. A fatal hit-and-run has no statute of limitations and can be charged at any time. A felony hit-and-run involving injury but not death falls under the standard three-year felony limitation. Gross misdemeanors must be charged within two years.⁸ Misdemeanor charges for hitting unattended property generally carry a one-year filing window under Washington’s general misdemeanor limitation.

These timelines matter because investigations often take weeks or months. Police may need to pull surveillance footage, trace paint transfers, or track down witnesses. Not being caught at the scene doesn’t mean the matter is over, particularly in fatal cases where there is no deadline on prosecution.

The Separate Four-Day Accident Report

Apart from the duties at the scene, RCW 46.52.030 requires drivers to file a written accident report when a collision causes injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more to any one person’s property.⁹¹⁰ You have four days from the date of the accident. File with the local chief of police if the crash happened inside an incorporated city or town, or with the county sheriff or State Patrol if it happened outside city limits.

If a law enforcement officer responds and prepares their own report, you generally won’t need to file a separate one. If no officer showed up, the burden is entirely on you. Missing the four-day deadline authorizes the chief of police, sheriff, or State Patrol to suspend your driver’s license until the report is submitted.¹¹ The collision also goes on the driving records of everyone involved.¹⁰

Restitution on Top of Fines and Jail

A conviction also exposes you to court-ordered restitution under RCW 9.94A.750. Restitution covers the victim’s actual, measurable losses: repair or replacement costs for damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages caused by the injury, along with the cost of counseling directly related to the offense. It does not cover pain and suffering or other non-economic losses; those require a separate civil lawsuit. The total a court can order is capped at double the offender’s gain or double the victim’s loss, whichever is less.¹²

If You’re the Victim of a Hit-and-Run

Washington’s hit-and-run statutes punish the fleeing driver, but a separate insurance rule helps the person left behind. RCW 48.22.030 requires every auto policy issued in the state to include coverage protecting you against hit-and-run drivers and unidentified phantom vehicles that cause damage without physical contact. Phantom-vehicle claims require corroboration beyond your own testimony and a report to law enforcement within 72 hours, and property-damage deductibles are capped at $300.¹³

1
Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.020 – Duty in Case of Personal Injury or Death or Damage to Attended Vehicle or Other Property – Penalties
2
FindLaw. Washington Revised Code 46.52.020 – Duty in Case of Personal Injury or Death or Damage to Attended Vehicle or Other Property – Penalties
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.52.010 – Duty on Striking Unattended Car or Other Property – Penalty
4
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.92.030 – Punishment of Misdemeanor When Not Fixed by Statute
5
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.92.020 – Punishment of Gross Misdemeanor When Not Fixed by Statute
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.20.021 – Maximum Sentences for Classified Felonies
7
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Washington Practice Series – WPIC 97.03 Hit and Run – Attended Vehicle – Definition
8
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.04.080 – Prosecution – Statute of Limitations
9
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.52.030 – Accident Reports
10
Washington State Department of Licensing. Reporting Collision Damage
11
Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.030 – Accident Reports
12
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.94A.750 – Restitution
13
Washington State Legislature. RCW 48.22.030 – Underinsured and Hit-and-Run Coverage

What the Law Requires You to Do at the Scene

Penalties by Severity of the Crash

Unattended Property: Misdemeanor

Attended Vehicle or Property: Gross Misdemeanor

Injury: Class C Felony

Death: Class B Felony