Georgia’s hit-and-run laws, codified at O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270, require every driver involved in a crash that causes injury, death, or damage to an occupied vehicle to stop at once, share identifying information, and help anyone who is hurt. Leaving without doing those things is a crime. Depending on what the collision caused, it can be charged as a misdemeanor carrying a fine and up to a year in jail, or as a felony carrying one to five years in prison. A conviction also triggers mandatory license suspension and can expose you to punitive damages in a civil suit brought by the injured party.
What You Must Do at the Scene
The statute imposes three duties on any driver involved in a qualifying crash. Each one has to be met before you leave.
First, stop. The stop should happen at the point of impact or as close to it as you can manage without blocking traffic more than necessary.1Justia. Georgia Code 40-6-270 – Hit and Run; Duty of Driver to Stop at or Return to Scene of Accident If momentum carries your car past the scene, you have to return immediately. Moving out of a travel lane to prevent a second collision is fine and is consistent with the statute’s instruction not to obstruct traffic unnecessarily. What matters is that you stay in the immediate area until every obligation is complete. Driving home and phoning the other driver later does not satisfy the law.
Second, exchange information. You must give the other driver or the vehicle’s occupants your full legal name, your current home address, and the registration number of the vehicle you were driving. If anyone involved or a responding officer asks to see your license, you have to show it, assuming you have it with you. Handing over only a phone number or a first name and driving off will not do, even if the gesture felt cooperative in the moment.
Third, help anyone injured. The statute specifically contemplates arranging transportation to a doctor or hospital when a person clearly needs medical care or asks for help getting there. In practice this usually means calling 911 and staying with the injured person until paramedics arrive. The duty applies regardless of who caused the crash.
The Knowledge Requirement
A conviction requires proof that you knew a collision occurred. A driver who got out, looked for damage, saw none, and left was acquitted because the evidence did not show he was aware of any damage.2Justia. Georgia Code 40-6-270 (2020) – Hit and Run; Duty of Driver to Stop at or Return to Scene of Accident A driver who was shown the damage by the other driver and then left without exchanging information was found to have acted knowingly. The state does not have to show you intended harm, only that you were aware a crash happened and chose to leave without complying.
Hitting a Parked Car or Other Property
A separate statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-271, covers striking an unattended vehicle or other property. You still have to stop. You must either locate the owner and share your information or leave a written note in a visible spot on the damaged vehicle with your name, address, and the vehicle owner’s information.3Justia. Georgia Code 40-6-271 – Duty Upon Striking Unattended Vehicle or Other Property Failing to do either is a misdemeanor. A note left on a nearby car rather than the one you hit, or one that blows away, will not satisfy the requirement. Secure it well, and photograph it for your records.
The Separate Duty to Report to Police
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273 adds a reporting obligation that operates alongside the duty to stop. Whenever a crash causes any injury, any death, or property damage that appears to be $500 or more, the driver must contact law enforcement immediately by the fastest available means.4Justia. Georgia Code 40-6-273 – Duty to Report Accident Resulting in Injury, Death, or Property Damage Inside city limits, that means local police. Outside a municipality, it means the county sheriff or the nearest Georgia State Patrol office. The $500 threshold is low enough that most crashes involving another vehicle will trigger the reporting duty, since even minor fender damage routinely exceeds it.
Misdemeanor Penalties
When a hit and run causes only vehicle damage or an injury that does not qualify as serious, the offense is a misdemeanor. The fines are mandatory and cannot be suspended, stayed, or probated. The five-year window for repeat offenses is measured between arrest dates, and prior nolo contendere pleas count as convictions.1Justia. Georgia Code 40-6-270 – Hit and Run; Duty of Driver to Stop at or Return to Scene of Accident
- A first conviction carries a fine of $300 to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both.
- A second conviction within five years carries a fine of $600 to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both.
- A third or subsequent conviction within five years carries a flat $1,000 fine, up to 12 months in jail, or both.
Judges keep discretion to add probation or community service on top of those mandatory minimums.
Felony Penalties for Serious Injury or Death
When leaving the scene involves a crash that was the proximate cause of a serious injury or a death, the charge becomes a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. A Georgia felony conviction also brings lasting collateral consequences: loss of voting rights during incarceration, firearm restrictions, and a permanent record that shows up in employer and landlord background checks.
License Suspension and Insurance Fallout
A hit-and-run conviction triggers a mandatory driver’s license suspension by the Georgia Department of Driver Services; the statute lists the offense among those requiring automatic suspension.5Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-54 – Mandatory Suspension of License Hit and run is also classified as a habitual violator contributor, so it counts toward the three-offense threshold that can produce a five-year habitual violator revocation when combined with other serious traffic convictions inside five years.6Georgia Secretary of State. Subject 375-3-3 Revocation and Suspension
Georgia typically requires an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility for three years after a hit-and-run conviction, with premiums paid six months in advance. The filing fee is modest; the premium increase is not. Industry data shows a hit-and-run conviction roughly doubles the average annual auto insurance premium, often adding more than $2,000 a year compared to a clean record, and that elevated rate persists for years.
Civil Lawsuits and Punitive Damages
The criminal case is only half of it. A victim can sue you for medical bills, lost income, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering. Fleeing does not by itself create liability for causing the crash, but it can dramatically raise what a jury awards.
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1, Georgia allows punitive damages when a defendant’s conduct shows “willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or that entire want of care which would raise the presumption of conscious indifference to consequences.” Georgia courts have found that leaving a collision scene without speaking to the other party qualifies as the kind of conscious indifference that supports punitive damages.7Justia. Georgia Code 51-12-5.1 (2020) – Punitive Damages Those damages are uncapped in many Georgia cases and can dwarf the compensatory award.
How Long Prosecutors Have to Charge You
There is no special limitations period for hit and run, so the general criminal deadlines apply. Prosecutors have two years from the date of the offense to bring misdemeanor charges.8Justia. Georgia Code 17-3-1 – Generally For a felony hit and run involving serious injury or death, the deadline is four years. That window gives investigators substantial time to track down a fleeing driver through surveillance video, witness tips, and forensic evidence. Waiting out the clock is not a workable plan.