Is hit and run a felony? What four state statutes say

Leaving the scene of a crash can be a felony, and in Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina it is when someone dies. For crashes with injury the grade differs by state, and for vehicle damage only it is a misdemeanor in all four. Tennessee, for example, says "It is a Class E felony for any person to fail to stop or to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) when the person knew or should reasonably have known that death resulted from the accident." [1]

Statutes are cited as of November 9, 2026. Tennessee text comes from the FindLaw mirror of the code (current as of January 2, 2024); Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina come from each state's official code site. This is a reading of the statutes, not advice about anyone's charge. If you or someone you know has been charged, see a criminal defense attorney.

Tennessee's statute does not state sentence lengths in these sections; it names the class, and the ranges for each class sit elsewhere in the code, which we did not read. Alabama's penalty section names classes only for the same reason. Oklahoma and South Carolina state ranges in the section itself, as shown.

The duty to stop for a crash with injury or death is in Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-101: the driver "shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene as possible." [1] A violation is a Class A misdemeanor, and the Class E felony applies when the person knew or should reasonably have known death resulted. The statute also says "The commissioner shall revoke the license or permit to drive" of the person convicted [1].

For vehicle damage only, § 55-10-102 grades the offense by amount: damage that "does not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500)" is a Class B misdemeanor, and more than that is a Class A misdemeanor [2] [2].

Ala. Code § 32-10-1 applies to a driver in an accident "resulting in injury to or the death of any person, or in damage to any vehicle driven or attended by any person." [5] Section 32-10-6 then grades a conviction by result. For damage only it reads "For a violation involving only damage to property, a Class A misdemeanor." [6] For physical injury, a Class C felony; for serious physical injury or death, a Class B felony. The section also treats a person who suffers loss from the conduct as a victim, who "shall be considered a victim for the purposes of Article 4A of Chapter 18 of Title 15." [6]

Oklahoma splits the offense across three sections of Title 47. For a nonfatal injury, 47 O.S. § 10-102 reaches a person "willfully, maliciously, or feloniously failing to stop to avoid detection or prosecution." [7] That is the felony. The section itself states no separate penalty for a non-willful failure to stop. The general penalty section for the Vehicle Code, § 17-101(B)(1), sets a fine of $5 to $500 or up to 10 days in jail for violations "for which another penalty is not provided," [11] so a misdemeanor appears to apply. That is our reading; we did not read a court decision on it, and an attorney can say which penalty a given charge carries. For a death, § 10-102.1 uses the same intent wording and grades it a Class B4 felony. For property damage, § 10-103 is a misdemeanor, and adds that the driver is "subject to liability for damages in an amount equal to three times the value of the damage caused by the accident." [9]

S.C. Code § 56-5-1210 grades by outcome: a misdemeanor when injury results but "great bodily injury or death does not result," [10] a felony when great bodily injury results, and a felony when death results. The section defines great bodily injury as "bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ." [10] It also says "The Department of Motor Vehicles shall revoke the driver's license of the person convicted pursuant to this section." [10] Section 56-5-1220 covers crashes with damage only to a vehicle driven or attended by a person: a misdemeanor.

Tennessee is the only one of the four where we read the limitation periods for criminal charges. A Class E felony must be brought within two years and misdemeanors within twelve months, subject to exceptions in the code (the code says "Prosecution for a felony offense shall begin within" the stated periods) [3]. This is separate from the civil deadline for an injury lawsuit: see Tennessee deadlines and how long you have to file.

What to record at the scene and how reports work is in hit and run: what to do. State pages: Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina. To get a police report, use the crash report finder.