Colorado “Hit & Run” – Laws, Penalties & Best Defenses

In Colorado, you commit hit and run if you flee the scene of an accident without providing your information to the other parties, rendering aid to any injured persons, and reporting the accident.

The following chart lays out the penalties for Colorado’s four levels of hit and run charges (from the least to the most serious).

Hit and Run Crime	Colorado Sentence
With property damage	Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense:  10 to 90 days in jail and/or $150 to $300.
With non-serious bodily injury	Class 1 traffic misdemeanor:  10 days to 1 year in jail and/or $300 to $1,000.
With serious bodily injury	Class 4 felony:  2 to 6 years in prison and/or $2,000 to $500,000.
With death	Class 3 felony:  4 to 12 years in prison and/or $3,000 to $750,000.

You could also face civil liability if the victims file a lawsuit. This can result in the court ordering you to pay the victim compensatory damages.

In this article, our Denver, Colorado criminal defense attorneys answer the following topics re. hit and run laws. Also listen to our informative podcast:

• 1. Your Obligations
• 2. Penalties
• 3. Other Consequences
• 4. Defenses
• 5. Statute of Limitations
• Additional Reading

1. Your Obligations

While at the scene of an accident, involved drivers should exchange contact information and insurance information. There are additional requirements depending on the situation.

Hitting an Occupied Vehicle

If you are involved in a car accident in Colorado, you are legally obligated to remain at the scene of the accident unless:

• you leave in order to report the accident to law enforcement (CRS 42-4-1606),
• there is no one in the other motor vehicle (see below), or
• you are yourself badly injured and in need of immediate medical attention.

You are also permitted to move a small distance if leaving the cars where they are would obstruct traffic or constitute a hazard.

When Someone Gets Injured

If you are involved in an auto accident in which someone is injured, Colorado law requires you to, where practical, give an injured person reasonable assistance (“render aid”). Such reasonable assistance includes taking the victim to a doctor or hospital or making arrangements for someone to do so.¹

Hitting Property or an Unattended Vehicle

If you collide with an unattended vehicle or other property, and it is damaged, you must stop and either:

• locate and notify the operator or owner of such vehicle or other property, or
• securely attach a notice to the property in a conspicuous place.

The notice must inform the owner of the following:

• your name,
• your address, and
• the registration number of the vehicle you were driving.

You must also report the accident to the police and return to the accident scene if they ask you to.²

2. Penalties

As discussed below, the criminal sentence turns on whether anyone was injured or killed. Depending on the case, you may be able to get probation in lieu of incarceration.

Hitting an Unoccupied Vehicle or Causing Property Damage

Failure to report an accident or to provide notice to the owner of an unattended vehicle or other damaged property is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense. Penalties for hit and run of an unattended vehicle or property in Colorado can include:

• 10 to 90 days in jail and/or
• a fine of $150 to $300.³

Hit and Run Causing a Non-Serious Injury

Hit and run resulting in non-serious injury is a class 1 traffic misdemeanor. Colorado penalties can include:

• 10 days to 1 year in jail and/or
• a fine of $300 to $1,000.⁴

A non-serious injury means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical or mental condition.⁵

Hit and Run Causing Serious Bodily Injury

If you leave the scene of an accident in which someone was seriously injured, it is a class 4 felony. Colorado penalties for a hit and run with serious bodily injury can include:

• 2 to 6 years in prison and/or
• a fine of $2,000 to $500,000.⁶

“Serious bodily injury” means an injury that involves, either at the time of the actual injury or at a later time,

• a substantial risk of death,
• a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement,
• a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body, or
• breaks, fractures, or burns of the second or third-degree.⁷

Learn more about felony hit and run (CRS 42-4-1603).

Hit and Run Causing Death

If you flee the scene of a Colorado accident in which someone dies, you commit a class 3 felony. Colorado penalties for hit and run resulting in death can include:

• 4 to 12 years in prison and/or
• a fine of $3,000 to $750,000.⁸

3. Other Consequences

If you are convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, the DMV will

• add 12 points to your Colorado driving record and
• revoke your license.

Courts will also award restitution for the victim’s

• medical bills,
• car repairs, and/or
• other losses.

If you were under the influence, you would also face DUI charges, which, among other things, may require you to undergo alcohol and substance abuse treatment.

In addition, you may face a personal injury claim in civil court. If the victim of a hit and run died, you could be sued for wrongful death.

4. Defenses

Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with leaving the scene of an accident. In our experience, the following five defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

1. You were too injured to remain on the scene and/or report the accident. In these cases, we just show the prosecutor your medical records indicating that your injuries prevented you from carrying out any legal obligations.
2. You genuinely were not aware of the accident. It is not always obvious when you hit a vehicle, especially if it was just a graze. In these cases, we would rely on traffic surveillance footage and body shop reports to show that any reasonable person in your situation may not have known that an accident occurred.
3. You left the scene to look for a police officer or get help for someone who was injured. In some situations, it makes more sense to look for help rather than wait for it to arrive. This is another case where we would try to show the D.A. that you acted like any reasonable person would in your situation.
4. No one was injured, and you left a note. Perhaps the alleged victim faked their injury, or perhaps the note you left flew away in the wind. Either way, no criminal charges should stand as long as we can show you met your obligations after the accident. Typical evidence we rely on includes the victim’s medical records, eyewitnesses, and video surveillance footage.
5. You were falsely accused. It is not unusual for car crash victims to write down the wrong license plate number in the frenzy of the moment. In these cases, such evidence as traffic camera footage and eyewitness accounts may be enough to show prosecutors they charged the wrong person.

To convict you of hit and run in Colorado, prosecutors have the burden to prove each “element of the crime” beyond a reasonable doubt. As long as there is some reasonable doubt – or as long as your reasons for leaving the scene were justified – the charges should be dismissed.

5. Statute of Limitations

Colorado district attorneys have a limited time – called a statute of limitations – to charge you with leaving the scene of a crash. The time limit depends on the specific charge, as illustrated by the following chart:

Colorado Hit and Run Offense	Statute of Limitations for Bringing Criminal Charges
Class 3 felony (fatal) and vehicular homicide (CRS 18-3-1-6)  together	10 years after the accident
Class 3 felony (fatal)	5 years after the accident
Class 4 felony (serious but non-fatal injury)	3 years after the accident
Traffic misdemeanors (all other cases)	1 year after the accident

Once the applicable time period has passed, prosecutors may no longer press charges.⁹

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Theorizing hit-and-run: A study of driver decision-making processes after a road traffic collision – Criminology & Criminal Justice.
• Is a Hit-and-Wait Really Any Better than a Hit-and-Run? – Hofstra Law Review.
• The Impact of Moral Panic on the Criminal Justice System: Hit-and-run Traffic Offenses as a Case Study – New Criminal Law Review.
• Hit the bottle and run: The role of alcohol in hit-and-run pedestrian fatalities – Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
• Hit-and-run or hit-and-stay? Unintended effects of a stricter BAC limit – Risk Analysis.

See our related articles: Denver hit and run, DUI / drunk driving, reckless driving, Denver hit and run – What are the penalties?, and Denver Hit and Run – 5 key things to know.

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