Maryland hit-and-run penalties scale sharply with what the crash involved. Leaving the scene of a property-damage accident is a misdemeanor carrying up to two months in jail and a fine of up to $500. Leaving after someone is injured can bring one to five years in prison depending on how serious the injury was and what the driver knew. Leaving a fatal accident carries up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine. On top of the criminal case, the Motor Vehicle Administration assesses 8 or 12 points against your license, and your insurance takes a direct hit.
Property-Damage Hit and Run
Maryland treats two property-damage situations under separate statutes, but the punishment is the same.
Under § 20-103, if you strike an attended vehicle or property (someone is in the car or present at the scene), you must stop and exchange your name, address, vehicle registration number, and the vehicle owner’s information. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor carrying up to two months in jail and a fine of up to $500.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 20-103 – Duty on Striking Attended Vehicle or Other Property
Under § 20-105, if you hit an unattended vehicle, a fence, a mailbox, or any other unattended property, you must try to find the owner. If you cannot, you must leave a written note in a secure, visible spot with your name, address, registration number, and the vehicle owner’s information. Skipping that step is also a misdemeanor punishable by up to two months in jail and up to $500 in fines.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 20-105 – Duty on Striking Unattended Vehicle or Other Property
Drivers often assume that if no one saw them clip a parked car, they can leave without consequence. Surveillance cameras, doorbell cameras, and witnesses routinely prove that wrong.
Injury Hit and Run
Section 20-102 sets a tiered scheme once a person is hurt. The line between a one-year misdemeanor and a five-year felony turns on what the driver knew or reasonably should have known.
Leaving the scene of an accident that injures someone is punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $3,000. That is the base-level offense and applies even when injuries are relatively minor.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 20-102 – Driver’s Duty to Remain at Scene of Accident
The charge becomes a felony when the driver knew or reasonably should have known the accident might cause serious bodily injury and serious bodily injury actually occurred. The statute defines serious bodily injury as an injury creating a substantial risk of death, causing serious permanent disfigurement, or causing serious long-term loss of function of any body part, organ, or mental faculty. A conviction at this level carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 20-102 – Driver’s Duty to Remain at Scene of Accident
Fatal Hit and Run
When a collision results in death, the base penalty for fleeing is up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. If the driver knew or should have known the accident might be fatal and a death actually occurred, the offense is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 20-102 – Driver’s Duty to Remain at Scene of Accident
The “knew or should have known” element carries a lot of weight at trial. A high-speed collision with a pedestrian makes it hard for a driver to argue there was no reason to think anyone was seriously hurt, and prosecutors rely on the physical circumstances of the crash to prove that knowledge.
MVA Points and License Consequences
The criminal case is only half of what happens. The Motor Vehicle Administration runs its own point system that operates independently of the courtroom.
A hit-and-run conviction involving damage to an attended or unattended vehicle carries 8 points. A hit-and-run involving bodily injury or death carries 12 points.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-402 – Assessment of Points
Those totals trigger automatic action. Accumulating 8 points within a two-year period brings a notice of suspension. Reaching 12 points brings a notice of revocation, which strips your license entirely rather than suspending it temporarily.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 16-404 – Effect of Accumulation of Points A single injury or fatal hit-and-run conviction puts you at 12 points by itself. These consequences are separate from any jail time or fine the judge orders. Reinstatement after a revocation typically requires proving you have satisfied all court-ordered obligations and carry the required insurance.
Civil Liability
A hit-and-run driver is also exposed in civil court. Maryland recognizes negligence per se, so an injured plaintiff can use your statutory violation as automatic proof that you breached a duty of care. They only need to show the violation and that it caused their injuries, which makes these lawsuits substantially easier to win than a standard negligence claim.
Punitive damages are harder to reach. Maryland courts require proof of actual malice, meaning evil motive, intent to injure, ill will, or fraud, shown by clear and convincing evidence. Fleeing a scene knowing someone is hurt can potentially clear that bar, especially in serious-injury or fatal cases where the driver made a conscious choice to abandon the victim. A punitive award on top of compensation for medical bills, lost income, and pain could exceed anything the criminal court imposed.
Insurance Fallout
An 8- or 12-point assessment signals extreme risk to any carrier. Expect your current insurer either to raise your premium sharply at renewal or to decline to renew the policy at all. A license suspension or revocation makes matters worse, because insurers can cancel a policy mid-term when the policyholder loses driving privileges. Drivers who eventually get reinstated often find only high-risk carriers willing to write a policy, and at rates several times the standard premium.
If You Were the One Hit
If a driver fled and you cannot identify them, Maryland treats that driver as uninsured. Every Maryland auto policy must include uninsured motorist coverage, and a hit-and-run qualifies for a claim under it. You file with your own insurer rather than the at-fault driver’s, and the claim can cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages up to your policy limits.6Maryland Insurance Administration. What You Need to Know About Uninsured Motorist Claims
Avoiding the Charge in the First Place
The penalties above all attach to failing the duties in §§ 20-102 through 20-105. Those duties are the same in every collision you are involved in, regardless of fault:
- Stop as close to the scene as you can without creating a new hazard.
- Give the other driver or property owner your name, address, vehicle registration number, and the vehicle owner’s name and address.
- If anyone is hurt, provide reasonable assistance, which usually means calling 911 or helping arrange transport to a hospital.
- If you damage unattended property and cannot locate the owner, leave a written note with your identifying information in a visible, secure place.
- For any accident involving bodily injury or death, file a written report with the MVA within 15 days unless a police officer has already investigated and filed one.7New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Transportation 20-107 – Written Accident Report Required by Each Driver Involved
The duty to stop and identify applies to every driver involved in the crash, whether or not you caused it. Staying and exchanging information after a fender bender takes a few minutes. Leaving turns the same event into a criminal case, license loss, and insurance crisis.