What to do after a hit and run

In the statutes it is a driver in a crash leaving without doing what the law requires. Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina each require the driver to stop at or near the scene and remain until they have given their information and helped anyone hurt [1] [6] [9] [14]. The penalties are on is hit and run a felony.

Call 911 if anyone is hurt or in danger. A driver in an injury crash must notify the local police in a city, otherwise the county sheriff or the state highway patrol. Alabama says so in § 32-10-5, [8] Oklahoma in § 10-107, [13] and South Carolina in § 56-5-1260 [14]. Those sections tell the driver whom to notify; a victim can use the same agencies. For Memphis, MPD lists a non-emergency number in the Memphis section below. Each state's reporting page is linked in the sections below.

We have not found a statewide online hit-and-run form. In Memphis, the police department links an online report system whose list of incident types includes Hit and Run, described as "Leaving the scene of an accident without providing required license, insurance or vehicle information." [19] The same page says "If the incident you are reporting has a known suspect, you should instead call us." [19] Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Other agencies differ: check the website of the police department or sheriff for where the crash happened, or call their non-emergency line. Use the crash report finder to get a copy of a report once it exists.

It depends on the policy and the state. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is the usual place to look. Oklahoma's statute names hit-and-run vehicles outright [15]. South Carolina treats a vehicle as uninsured if the owner or operator is unknown [16]. Tennessee allows an unknown-driver claim only when conditions are met, including physical contact or clear and convincing proof [17]. Whether collision coverage pays for car damage is set by your policy, which we have not sourced here.

In Oklahoma, the statute says UM coverage protects insureds who can recover from hit-and-run motor vehicles [15]. In South Carolina an unknown owner or operator makes the vehicle count as uninsured, subject to the chapter's conditions [16]. Tennessee requires contact or clear and convincing proof, a timely police report and no negligence in failing to identify the driver [17]. The Alabama definition in § 32-7-23 lists examples of uninsured vehicles but does not mention hit-and-run drivers, so read your policy [18].

Some states say so in their uninsured motorist statutes (Oklahoma names hit-and-run vehicles; South Carolina counts a vehicle with an unknown owner or operator as uninsured), and some set conditions (Tennessee). The answer in your policy controls. See hit by an uninsured driver [15] [16].

The statutes list several duties, and most depend on a condition. (1) Stop at or near the scene and stay: after a crash with injury or death, Tennessee says the driver "shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene as possible." [1] Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina each have a matching duty to stop at or near the scene [6] [9] [14]. South Carolina's section adds that the driver "may temporarily leave the scene to report the accident to the proper authorities." [14] Crashes with only vehicle damage have their own stop sections. (2) Give information: in a crash with injury or death, or damage to a vehicle that is driven or attended, the driver must give name, address and vehicle registration number, and show a driver license on request [3] [7] [12] [14]. (3) Help anyone injured: Alabama says the driver "shall render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance," [7] which in the sections we read includes carrying the person to a doctor or hospital, or arranging it, if treatment is apparent or the injured person asks [3]. (4) Notify police: when a crash injures or kills someone, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina require immediate notice to the local police, the sheriff or the highway patrol [8] [13] [14]. The three Tennessee sections cited on this page do not state a duty to notify police, and we have not read the Tennessee reporting statute for this page. Details are on each state's reporting page and on is hit and run a felony.

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-101, a driver in a crash causing injury or death must stop at or near the scene and stay until the duties in § 55-10-103 are done; a violation is a Class A misdemeanor, and a Class E felony if the person knew or should have known someone died [1] [1]. Damage-only crashes have a similar stop duty in § 55-10-102 [2].

NHTSA's FARS flags 283 of 1,755 Shelby County fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024 (16%) as hit-and-run. The yearly count rose from 10 in 2015 to 45 in 2020 and was 31 in 2024.

Call 911 if anyone is hurt or in danger. For a report after the fact, MPD's non-emergency line is 901-545-2677 [4]. Use the agency named on any card you were given.

Whether your own policy or state law treats an unidentified driver like an uninsured one differs by state; see the insurance section below. Tennessee's rule is in Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-1201(e) [17]. Read your policy's definition of an uninsured vehicle or ask your insurer.