Leaving the Scene

Leaving the scene of an accident in Missouri can have serious consequences. But what exactly does leaving the scene of an accident entail?

In Missouri a person commits the offense of leaving the scene of an accident when they are the operator of a vehicle or vessel (that includes a boat) that is involved in an accident that results in injury, death or damage to property of another person AND having knowledge of such accident leaves the place of injury, damage or accident without stopping and giving the following information to the other party or to a law enforcement officer.. If no law enforcement officer is in the vicinity, then to the nearest law enforcement agency.

What Information Is Required?

Here is the information required:

His or her name

His or her residence, including city and street number

The registration or license number for his or her vehicle or vessel

His or her operator’s license number, if any.

You can see how somebody could unintentionally be found in violation of this law. Maybe they gave everything but their driver’s license number. And even though they were easily findable and gave all sorts of other identifying information to the other party, they forgot, or better yet, didn’t know to give the driver’s license number, they could be in violation.

This Law is Tricky

This law is deceptive. Many well-intentioned people get charged with leaving the scene of an accident because they didn’t know all of the requirements.

Here is another example. A client of mine veered off the street in his subdivision coming home from working the late shift. His cell phone rang, and he looked down to answer it. He hit a light pole. It was just five houses from his house. So, he drove his car home.

Another neighbor happened to be up, saw the accident, and called the police. They reported that they knew who was driving. The police showed up at my client’s house in about fifteen minutes. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Of course we were able to successfully defend that case. But it still cost my client money to defend his actions.

Here Are The Punishments

The offense of leaving the scene of an accident is a class A misdemeanor but can be elevated to a class E felony if physical injury was caused to another party or the amount of damage to the other party’s property was in excess of one thousand dollars. It is also a class E felony if the defendant has been previously found guilty of leaving the scene.

If a death occurs as a result of the accident, it becomes a class D felony.

Be Careful

Be careful out there. Of course nobody wants to be in an accident. But something as simple as backing into a parked car on the grocery store lot and leaving could get you in serious trouble. I thought you should know this.