If you were just hit by a driver who took off in Paterson, here is what to do after a hit and run in Paterson, NJ: call 911 from the scene, write down everything you can remember about the other vehicle, get a police report started, notify your own auto insurer within a day or two, and keep track of the deadlines that will govern any claim or lawsuit. The steps below walk through each one in the order they matter.
Call 911 Before You Do Anything Else
Pick up the phone the moment it is safe to do so, even if the damage looks minor. A police response creates the official record that every later step depends on, from your insurance claim to any lawsuit. If you are hurt, ask for an ambulance on that same call.
While you wait, start capturing the vehicle that left. Make, model, color, and any part of the plate are the leads investigators actually use. If your car has a dashcam, leave the footage alone. Do not trim it, do not export clips, do not annotate anything. Edited video can be kept out of evidence, and in a worst case the tampering question becomes its own problem.
Get names and phone numbers from anyone who saw it happen. A partial account from a bystander is often enough to build a lead. Note the time and the nearest intersection or landmark. Look around for storefronts or buildings with cameras aimed at the street and tell the responding officer about them so the department can request the footage before it is overwritten on the usual short cycle.
Getting a Police Report in Paterson
When Officers Come to the Scene
Responding officers prepare a New Jersey Police Crash Investigation Report, known as the NJTR-1. You do not fill this one out. It is a police document, and the versions posted on the NJ Department of Transportation website are reference copies that cannot be used to self-report.1New Jersey Department of Transportation. Forms, Crash Records, Reference/Links
Before the officer leaves, ask for the case number. Your insurer will want it, and you will use it to check on the investigation.
When Police Do Not Investigate
If no officer responds or investigates the crash, you file a Self-Reporting Crash Form (SR-1) with the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The SR-1 is the only accepted form for crashes police did not investigate.2New Jersey Department of Transportation. Self-Reporting Crash Form It is available on the NJ DOT website and at the local police station.
Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, any driver involved in a crash causing injury, death, or more than $500 in property damage must give immediate notice to local police and forward a written report to the Motor Vehicle Commission within 10 days. A police-filed report satisfies the written-report requirement. If no report is filed, that 10-day clock is yours to track.
Where to File in Paterson
The Paterson Police Department is at 111 Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07502.3City of Paterson. Police Division You can bring documents in during regular business hours. Some residents send forms by certified mail instead, which produces a paper trail that helps if an insurer later questions how quickly you reported.
A detective is usually assigned to review the report and chase leads once it comes in. That assignment can take several business days depending on caseload. Call with your case number if you want a status update.
Call Your Insurer Within a Day or Two
New Jersey is a no-fault state, which means your own policy carries the first weight of a hit and run claim.
Personal Injury Protection
Personal Injury Protection pays your medical bills after a car accident regardless of who caused it. That coverage applies even when the other driver is never identified, which is why PIP is the first line of recovery for most hit and run victims.4New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Selecting Your Health Insurer for PIP Option
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
New Jersey treats a hit and run vehicle as an uninsured motor vehicle. Under N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1, every standard auto policy issued in the state must include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, the minimum UM limits are $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident.5Justia. New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 17-28-1.1 – Required Coverages
UM coverage can reach medical expenses and lost income beyond what PIP pays, plus pain and suffering in qualifying cases. For property damage, every UM claim carries a mandatory $500 deductible that comes out of your pocket before the coverage kicks in.6New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Filing an Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Property Damage Claim
Notify your insurer within 24 to 48 hours. Policies require prompt notice, and a delay can complicate the claim or get it denied outright. Have the police case number in front of you when you call.
If You Have No Auto Policy
Pedestrians, cyclists, and people whose households do not carry auto insurance can turn to the Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund (UCJF), administered by the New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association. The fund was created in 1952 to pay damages for victims of hit and run accidents and crashes involving uninsured drivers, and since 2004 it has also provided pedestrian PIP coverage when no other insurance is available.7New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association. Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund
To qualify, you need to show that no other insurance is available to you and that you reported the accident to police. The paperwork is heavier and the processing slower than a standard insurance claim, so start the application early.
If the Driver Is Identified: Lawsuit Deadlines
When investigators or your insurer eventually identify the person who fled, you can sue in civil court for medical bills, lost wages, vehicle repair or replacement, and pain and suffering. The tort option you selected on your own auto policy controls whether you can pursue non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
The deadlines are firm. For personal injury, you have two years from the date of the accident under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. Miss it and the court will dismiss the case no matter how strong the evidence. Narrow exceptions can pause the clock, such as a victim who was a minor at the time or a defendant who left the state. For property damage, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1 gives you six years.8Justia. New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 2A-14-1 Even with that longer runway, waiting weakens the case: evidence degrades, witnesses forget, and camera footage gets erased.
These are court deadlines, not insurance deadlines. Your insurer has its own notice window, and the police report should go in immediately. Treating the lawsuit deadline as your only deadline is a common and expensive mistake.
In serious cases, punitive damages may be on the table. New Jersey allows them only when the defendant acted with willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others. Deliberately leaving the scene can meet that standard, especially when someone was visibly injured. Any punitive award is capped at five times the compensatory damages in the case.9New Jersey State Legislature. New Jersey Statutes 2A-15-5.14 – Determination of Award, Limitations, Exceptions If the driver is never identified, UM coverage and the UCJF are your paths, not a civil suit.
If You Were the Driver Who Left
The duty to stop under N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 applies to every collision, whether the other party is a car, a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a parked vehicle. Penalties range from fines, license suspension, and points for a property-damage-only incident up to a one-year suspension and jail time when someone was injured or killed.10Justia. New Jersey Code 39-4-129 – Action in Case of Accident When the accident caused serious bodily injury, a separate statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.1, makes leaving the scene a third-degree crime carrying three to five years in state prison, and the usual presumption against imprisonment for first-time offenders does not apply.11Justia. New Jersey Code 2C-12-1.1 If any of this describes your situation, speak with a defense attorney before contacting police on your own.