California Vehicle Code 20002 VC

Misdemeanor Hit and Run Involving Property Damage

Our California misdemeanor hit and run criminal defense attorneys have local law offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and all surrounding Southern California counties.

California Misdemeanor Hit and Run Involving Property Damage -- California Vehicle Code 20002 VC

In California, there are two types of hit & run offenses: misdemeanor and felony.

You may be charged with California misdemeanor hit and run if you:

1. leave the scene of an accident,



2. without first identifying yourself to the other party or parties involved, and



3. another's property was damaged in the accident.

The difference between California misdemeanor hit and run and California felony hit and run lies in number three above. While misdemeanor hit and run is concerned with property damage, felony hit and run is concerned with injury. You may be charged with the felony if someone (other than yourself) was injured.

These California hit and run laws apply to every accident, regardless of:

• Who was at fault,



• The amount of damage inflicted, or



• The seriousness of the injury/injuries.

In this article, our Ventura county criminal defense attorneys will provide a comprehensive overview of California Vehicle Code 20002 VC -- misdemeanor hit and run -- by addressing the following:

Your Duties under California's Misdemeanor Hit & Run Law

How Does the Prosecutor Prove that I Committed a California Misdemeanor Hit and Run?

What are the Defenses to California Misdemeanor Hit and Run Under California Vehicle Code 20002 VC?

Penalties, Punishment, and Sentencing for California Misdemeanor Hit and Run

If after reading this article, you have additional questions or would like to speak to a California hit and run defense lawyer, we invite you to contact us.

Your Duties under California's Misdemeanor Hit and Run Law

California Vehicle Code 20002 VC imposes three duties on you if you are involved in an accident that causes damage to another's property¹:

1. Immediately stop,



2. give the other party/parties your "identifying information" which is your name and a current address, and



3. if the other party/parties are on-scene (as opposed to a situation, for example, where you hit an unattended parked car), provide your driver's license and vehicle registration upon request.
   
   *If you weren't the owner of the car you were driving, you must additionally provide the name and address of the car's registered owner.

Failure to do any one of the above could result in a California misdemeanor hit and run charge.

It bears repeating that you must perform these duties regardless of who's at fault. This means that even if the other driver is 100% responsible for the accident, you could still be prosecuted under California Vehicle Code 20002 VC if you don't adhere to these requirements.

With respect to these requirements.

Violating the first duty causes the most concern from a public policy standpoint. Immediately leaving the scene of an accident may be viewed as a flagrant disregard for others by the judge, jury, and prosecutor. Judges and prosecutors may therefore be tougher on you if you fled the scene without first stopping.

Violating the second duty -- not providing your identifying information -- is an easy way to invite this charge. This is particularly true if you hit a parked car or some other type of stationary property and the property's owner wasn't on-scene.

If you hit a parked car or another type of property and the owner of that property isn't on-scene, the duty still exists. When this situation occurs, California Vehicle Code 20002 VC requires that you take the following steps:

1. Leave a conspicuously placed note that states:




(a)your "identifying information" mentioned above, and

(b)a summary of what happened, and




2. then immediately contact your local police department or the California Highway Patrol.

This second step applies to both private and public or government owned property. If, for example, you damage a street sign or even a parking meter, you are required immediately to notify your local police or CHP office.

Even though leaving a note is "technically" required, failing to do so upon damaging public property would be excused, as long as you immediately reported the incident and identified yourself to local law enforcement.

California misdemeanor hit and run law isn't concerned with what type of property you damage. It could be a car, someone's mailbox, a fence, or another's dog. The examples are endless. Any type of property (including pets²) will suffice and your duties remain the same.

The third requirement -- that you provide your driver's license and vehicle registration upon request -- requires little explanation. It does, however, provide a good opportunity to mention the following:

Although providing your insurance information isn't required under California Vehicle Code 20002 VC, this information (along with your vehicle identification number) must always be exchanged between drivers who are present at the scene of an accident.

This insurance requirement is a separate law under California Vehicle Code 16025.³ Failure to do so is an infraction, punishable by a maximum $250 fine.

How Does the Prosecutor Prove that I Committed a California Misdemeanor Hit and Run?

In order to prove that you violated California Vehicle Code 20002 VC, the prosecutor must prove the following facts (otherwise known as "elements of the crime"):

1. That you were involved in an accident that resulted in another's property being damaged,



2. that you knew an accident had occurred,



3. that you were involved in the accident where either:




(a) you knew property was damaged, or

(b) that the accident was of such a nature that it was probable that another's property was damaged, and




4. that you failed to perform all the duties outlined above.

The jury will additionally be instructed that in order to find you guilty, they must unanimously agree that you failed to perform those duties.

Although these elements appear to imply that you must perform all of the duties above to be convicted of this offense, that may not necessarily be the case. For example, if you stop after an accident but then fail to provide the required information, you still may face conviction under California's hit & run law.⁴

That being said, if you fled the scene but quickly decided to go back -- at which point you provided the required information -- the prosecutor would probably look at a variety of facts (including your driving record and criminal history) before deciding whether to file charges.

What are the Defenses to California Misdemeanor Hit and Run Under California Vehicle Code 20002 VC?

Three defenses most often apply to a California misdemeanor hit and run case:

1. That the only damages sustained were to your car,



2. that you lacked knowledge (either about your involvement in the accident or about the damages), and/or



3. that it wasn't you who was involved in the accident.

• Your car was the only damaged property

If, for example, you were driving a compact car and hit a large SUV, your car may have been the only one damaged. When that is the situation, there is no duty to stop or exchange information under California's misdemeanor hit and run law.

Similarly, if you hit someone else's property -- a wrought-iron fence, for example -- which caused damage to your car but left the fence unblemished, you could not be convicted under Vehicle Code 20002.

• Lack of knowledge

If you didn't know that you were involved in an accident, there can be no criminal liability for a California hit & run. This defense obviously wouldn't work in a case where there was significant damage done to another's car or stationary property.

It could, however, apply if you hit an animal or if the damage to another's property was so insignificant that you didn't feel the impact. Flipping the above example, if you were in the large SUV, but you backed into a compact car, you may not have even realized that you hit that car.

• It wasn't you

According to Darrell York, one of the top Ventura County criminal defense attorneys, Vehicle Code 20002

Penalties, Punishment, and Sentencing for California Misdemeanor Hit and Run

If convicted of California Vehicle Code 20002 VC, you face any or all the following:

• Up to three years of informal probation,



• Up to six months in a county jail,



• Up to $1,000 in fines plus court-assessed penalties,



• Restitution to any victim(s) whose property you damaged, and



• Per the California DMV, two points on your driving record.

The reality is that unless there are truly aggravating circumstances, you probably won't be sentenced to any jail time (at least not for a first offense). On that note, if it is your first offense (with no aggravating circumstances, such as allegations of alcohol use), you may be permitted to engage in a civil compromise.

• What is a civil compromise in a California hit & run case?

California Penal Code 1377 PC⁵ states that if a civil remedy is available to someone who has been injured as the result of another's misdemeanor conduct, the case may be civilly compromised.

If the judge allows you to participate under this code, your criminal charge alleging California misdemeanor hit and run will be dismissed once you have fully reimbursed the person(s) whose property you damaged.

If you have additional questions or would like to confidentially discuss your case, please don't hesitate to contact us. We have local criminal law offices located throughout Southern California, including Rancho Cucamonga, Orange County, Ventura, Van Nuys, Santa Monica, and all surrounding areas.

Legal References:

¹California Vehicle Code 20002 VC - Duty where property damaged:

(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in damage to any property, including vehicles, shall immediately stop the vehicle at the nearest location that will not impede traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other motorists. Moving the vehicle in accordance with this subdivision does not affect the question of fault. The driver shall also immediately do either of the following:

(1) Locate and notify the owner or person in charge of that property of the name and address of the driver and owner of the vehicle involved and, upon locating the driver of any other vehicle involved or the owner or person in charge of any damaged property, upon being requested, present his or her driver's license, and vehicle registration, to the other driver, property owner, or person in charge of that property. The information presented shall include the current residence address of the driver and of the registered owner. If the registered owner of an involved vehicle is present at the scene, he or she shall also, upon request, present his or her driver's license information, if available, or other valid identification to the other involved parties.

(2) Leave in a conspicuous place on the vehicle or other property damaged a written notice giving the name and address of the driver and of the owner of the vehicle involved and a statement of the circumstances thereof and shall without unnecessary delay notify the police department of the city wherein the collision occurred or, if the collision occurred in unincorporated territory, the local headquarters of the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

(b) Any person who parks a vehicle which, prior to the vehicle again being driven, becomes a runaway vehicle and is involved in an accident resulting in damage to any property, attended or unattended, shall comply with the requirements of this section relating to notification and reporting and shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the penalties of this section for failure to comply with the requirements.

(c) Any person failing to comply with all the requirements of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

²People v. Fimbres, (Super. 1930) 107 Cal.App.Supp. 778 (Dogs and other domestic animals are considered property in California. If a pet is hit in an accident, the driver is required to stop, pursuant to California Vehicle Code 20002 VC.)

³California Vehicle Code 16025 VC - Accidents; exchange of information; fines and penalties

(a) Every driver involved in the accident shall, unless rendered incapable, exchange with any other driver or property owner involved in the accident and present at the scene, all of the following information:

(1) Driver's name and current residence address, driver's license number, vehicle identification number, and current residence address of registered owner.

(2) Evidence of financial responsibility, as specified in Section 16020. If the financial responsibility of a person is a form of insurance, then that person shall supply the name and address of the insurance company and the number of the insurance policy.

(b) Any person failing to comply with all of the requirements of this section is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250).

⁴People v. Carter, (App. 2 Dist. 1966) 243 Cal.App.2d 239 ("It is a misdemeanor for the driver of a vehicle in accident which results in property damage to fail to give his name, address and [if requested] vehicle registration number.)

⁵California Penal Code 1377 PC -- Authority to compromise misdemeanors for which victim has civil action

When the person injured by an act constituting a misdemeanor has a remedy by a civil action, the offense may be compromised, as provided in Section 1378, except when it is committed as follows:

(a) By or upon an officer of justice, while in the execution of the duties of his or her office.
(b) Riotously.
(c) With an intent to commit a felony.
(d) In violation of any court order as described in Section 273.6 or 273.65.
(e) By or upon any family or household member, or upon any person when the violation involves any person described in Section 6211 of the Family Code or subdivision (b) of Section 13700 of this code.
(f) Upon an elder, in violation of Section 368 of this code or Section 15656 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(g) Upon a child, as described in Section 647.6 or 11165.6.

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