West Virginia Code: Leaving the Scene of an Accident

Leaving the scene of an accident in West Virginia is a crime under WV Code 17C-4-1 through 17C-4-3, and the charge ranges from a misdemeanor for property-damage-only crashes to a felony carrying up to five years in prison when someone dies. A conviction also triggers mandatory license revocation for any injury or fatal crash and opens you to civil lawsuits your insurer may refuse to defend.

What the Law Requires You to Do

Before looking at penalties, it helps to know exactly what “leaving” means. WV Code 17C-4-1 requires any driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone to stop immediately at the scene, or as close as safely possible, and stay there until every duty below is done.¹ The same stop-and-stay rule applies to crashes that only damage another vehicle under 17C-4-2.²

Once stopped, WV Code 17C-4-3 requires you to give your name, address, and vehicle registration to the other driver or to anyone your vehicle struck, show your license on request if you have it, and provide reasonable assistance to anyone hurt, including arranging transport to a hospital when treatment appears necessary or is requested. These duties apply regardless of who caused the crash.³ If the vehicle you hit is unattended and you cannot find the owner, leave a written notice with your contact and vehicle information in a conspicuous place on it.

When You Must Call Police

Under WV Code 17C-4-6, you must notify law enforcement immediately if the crash involves any injury, any death, or property damage that appears to total $1,000 or more. Inside city limits, call the local police. Outside, call the county sheriff or the nearest State Police office.⁴ The property-damage threshold catches many drivers off guard; the duty to call is not limited to injury crashes.

Criminal Penalties by Severity

West Virginia’s penalty structure has four tiers. The tier depends on the worst outcome of the crash, not on who caused it.

Property Damage Only

Leaving a crash that damaged another vehicle but injured no one is a misdemeanor under 17C-4-2, with penalties set by the general traffic-offense schedule in WV Code 17C-18-1.² Even at this level, a conviction produces a criminal record.

Bodily Injury

Knowingly leaving a crash that injured someone is a more serious misdemeanor under 17C-4-1(b), punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to a year in jail, or both.¹ The state must show you knew or had reason to believe someone was hurt. It does not have to show you caused the crash.

Serious Bodily Injury

If the crash caused serious bodily injury and you intentionally fled knowing someone appeared hurt, the offense becomes a felony under 17C-4-1(c), punishable by up to a $2,500 fine, one to three years in a state correctional facility, or both.¹ The line between “bodily injury” and “serious bodily injury” is the line between misdemeanor and felony.

Death

Under 17C-4-1(d), leaving a crash that proximately causes a death is a felony punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, one to five years in a state correctional facility, or both. The death must occur within one year of the crash for this subsection to apply.¹

License Revocation Is Automatic for Injury and Fatal Crashes

WV Code 17B-3-5 requires the Division of Motor Vehicles to revoke the license of any driver convicted of failing to stop and render aid in a crash involving personal injury or death. The statute uses “shall,” so no judge can waive it.⁵

Getting your license back usually means paying a reinstatement fee, satisfying every court-ordered condition, and filing proof of financial responsibility. That proof typically takes the form of SR-22 high-risk insurance for a period the DMV sets, which drives premiums up sharply.

Civil Lawsuits and Insurance Consequences

A criminal case is not the end of the exposure. Anyone hurt in a hit-and-run can sue for medical costs, lost income, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering. WV Code 55-2-12 gives them two years from the date of the crash to file.⁶

West Virginia allocates civil liability by percentage of fault under the modified comparative fault standard in WV Code 55-7-13a.⁷ The statute does not treat fleeing as an admission of fault, but juries tend to draw that inference on their own. Fleeing also strips you of the ability to document the scene, identify witnesses, or push back on the other driver’s account.

In cases involving serious injury or death, courts may add punitive damages. WV Code 55-7-29 caps them at the greater of four times the compensatory award or $500,000.⁸ Even under the cap, the numbers can be crushing, and insurers often deny coverage or refuse to defend a policyholder convicted of leaving the scene. If that happens, the entire judgment is yours to pay.

If You Were the One Hit

If a hit-and-run driver hit you and got away, WV Code 33-6-31 lets you recover under the uninsured motorist coverage every West Virginia auto policy must include, because an unknown driver counts as uninsured. Three conditions apply: report the crash to a police or judicial officer within 24 hours unless law enforcement already investigated, notify your insurer within 60 days and make the vehicle available for inspection within five days of a request, and prove at trial that the other vehicle physically contacted your vehicle or your person. That last condition matters: if an unidentified driver ran you off the road but the two vehicles never touched, the statute may not cover you.⁹

1
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 17C-4-1 – Crashes Involving Death or Personal Injuries; Erin’s Law
2
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 17C-4-2 – Crashes Involving Damage to Vehicle
3
Justia Law. West Virginia Code 17C-4-3 – Duty to Give Information and Render Aid
4
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 17C-4-6 – Immediate Notification of Crashes
5
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 17B-3-5 – Mandatory Revocation of License by Department
6
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 55-2-12 – Personal Actions; Limitation
7
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 55-7-13a – Modified Comparative Fault Standard Established
8
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 55-7-29 – Punitive Damages
9
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 33-6-31 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage