Fairfax Hit and Run Charge Involving Injury or Death

A Fairfax Hit and Run charge is a crime and a conviction will remain on a driver’s permanent criminal record.  A Hit and Run charge in Fairfax is also known as “Failure to Report an Accident.”  A Hit and Run charge in Fairfax can result from any car accident that the driver fails to report.  An offender can be charged with a Fairfax Hit and Run if the accident involved unoccupied property, occupied property, injury or death.  This post focuses on a Fairfax Hit and Run charge involving injury or death.

For more information on a Fairfax Hit and Run charge involving unoccupied property, click here.  For more information on a Fairfax Hit and Run charge involving occupied property, click here.  For more general information on a Hit and Run charge in Fairfax, click here.

Requirements of Fairfax Driver in Accident in Which Death or Injury Results

Va. Code §46.2-894 criminalizes failure to report an accident involving injury or death.  A driver involved in an accident resulting in injury or death must stop as close to the scene of the accident as possible and provide his identifying and vehicle information to the other driver or the person struck by his vehicle.  It does not matter who was at fault for the accident.  He must give the other driver his name, address, driver’s license number, and vehicle registration number.  If injuries prevent the other driver or the person struck by a vehicle from understanding and retaining the information, the driver must report the information to law-enforcement as soon as possible.  The driver also must render “reasonable assistance” to anyone injured.  This reasonable assistance includes taking the injured person to a doctor or hospital if he requests it or it appears necessary.  Failure to follow these steps will result in a Fairfax Hit and Run charge under Va. Code §46.2-894.

A passenger in a vehicle involved in an accident who is over 16 years old can also be charged with a Fairfax Hit and Run if he knew of the accident, knew the driver did not report it, and failed to report it himself within 24 hours.  A passenger’s failure to report an accident involving injury or death is a felony under Va. Code §46.2-895.

A Fairfax Hit and Run Charge Involving Injury or Death is a Felony

Penalties for Fairfax Hit and Run Charge Involving Injury or Death

A Fairfax Hit and Run charge involving injury or death is punished with jail (or prison), fines, driver’s license revocation, and automatic DMV demerit points.

A driver convicted of a Fairfax Hit and Run charge involving injury or death under Va. Code §46.2-894 will be convicted of a Class 5 felony, punished with up to 10 years in prison, a fine up to $2,500, and driver’s license revocation for 1 year.  The DMV will add 6 demerit points to the offender’s Virginia driving record.  A passenger convicted of a Fairfax Hit and Run charge involving injury or death has committed a Class 6 felony under Va. Code §46.2-895, punished with up to 5 years in prison, a fine up to $2,500, and driver’s license revocation for one year.

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