Arizona Hit-and-Run Laws: ARS 28-661 to 28-665

Arizona recorded 16,136 hit-and-run crashes in 2024. Eighty-six people died. Roughly 90% of hit-and-run cases nationally are never solved. Those numbers define the problem that Arizona’s hit-and-run statutes attempt to address, and they explain why the criminal penalties are among the most severe in the state’s traffic code.

The hit-and-run statutes sit in ARS Title 28, Sections 661 through 665. They impose escalating criminal penalties based on the severity of the crash, create affirmative duties to stop and render aid, and carry mandatory license revocation. On the civil side, hit-and-run cases raise specific insurance coverage questions that can determine whether the injured person receives any compensation at all.

Our data investigation into hit-and-run crashes in Maricopa County documents the scale of the problem. This guide covers the legal framework.

ARS 28-661: The Duty to Stop

ARS 28-661 is the foundational hit-and-run statute. It requires the driver of any vehicle involved in a crash resulting in injury to or death of a person to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash or as close to it as possible.

The statute imposes three specific duties on the driver who stops.

Provide identifying information

The driver must give their name, address, and the registration number of the vehicle to the injured person, to the driver or occupants of the other vehicle, or to any law enforcement officer at the scene.

Show their driver’s license

The driver must exhibit their operator’s or chauffeur’s license to any person demanding it.

Render reasonable assistance

The driver must render reasonable assistance to any person injured in the crash, including carrying or making arrangements for carrying the injured person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical treatment if it’s apparent the treatment is needed or if the injured person requests it.

The obligation to stop applies regardless of fault. A driver who wasn’t negligent still must stop if they’re involved in a crash. Fault is a civil question. The duty to stop is an independent criminal obligation.

Felony Classifications by Severity

Arizona classifies hit-and-run offenses based on the severity of the crash. The penalties escalate sharply.

Death or Serious Physical Injury: Class 3 Felony

Under ARS 28-661(A), leaving the scene of a crash that results in death or serious physical injury is a class 3 felony.

Arizona defines serious physical injury as physical injury that creates a reasonable risk of death, or that causes serious and permanent disfigurement, serious impairment of health, or loss or protracted impairment of the function of any bodily organ or limb (ARS 13-105).

The presumptive prison sentence for a class 3 felony in Arizona is 3.5 years. The range is 2 to 8.75 years for a first offense. Aggravating factors can push the sentence higher. Prior felony convictions increase the range substantially.

Non-Serious Injury: Class 5 Felony

ARS 28-661(B) covers hit-and-run crashes resulting in injury that doesn’t rise to the level of serious physical injury. This is a class 5 felony.

The presumptive sentence for a class 5 felony is 1.5 years. The range is 0.5 to 2.5 years for a first offense. Probation is possible for class 5 felonies, unlike class 3 dangerous felonies.

Even a class 5 felony conviction carries permanent consequences. A felony record affects employment, professional licensing, housing, and firearm rights.

Property Damage Only: Misdemeanor

ARS 28-662 covers crashes involving property damage only (no injuries). Leaving the scene of a property-damage crash is a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to four months in jail and a $750 fine.

While less severe than the felony classifications, a class 2 misdemeanor still creates a criminal record. For a crash involving a parked or unattended vehicle, ARS 28-662 requires the driver to stop, locate the vehicle’s owner, or leave a written notice with their name, address, and a description of the circumstances.

ARS 28-663: The Duty to Render Aid

ARS 28-663 reinforces and expands the duty to render aid established in ARS 28-661. It requires a driver involved in a crash resulting in injury to a person to render reasonable assistance to the injured person.

Reasonable assistance means what it sounds like. If the injured person is bleeding on the roadway, reasonable assistance includes calling 911, staying at the scene until help arrives, and providing basic comfort. The statute doesn’t require a driver to perform medical procedures they aren’t trained for. But it does require them not to leave an injured person on the side of the road.

The duty to render aid exists independent of fault. Even if the pedestrian stepped in front of the car and the driver bears zero fault for the crash, the driver still has a legal obligation to stop and help.

Failure to render aid is a factor in sentencing for hit-and-run convictions. A driver who struck a pedestrian and kept driving, leaving the injured person to be found by someone else or to die alone, faces a harsher sentence than one who stopped but left before police arrived.

ARS 28-665: License Revocation

ARS 28-665 mandates driver’s license revocation for any person convicted of hit-and-run involving injury or death. The revocation period depends on the severity.

A fatal hit-and-run or one involving serious physical injury carries a three-year license revocation. A non-serious injury hit-and-run carries a one-year revocation.

Revocation is mandatory upon conviction. The court doesn’t have discretion to skip it. The driver can apply for reinstatement after the revocation period, but reinstatement isn’t automatic. The MVD evaluates whether the driver should be re-licensed.

During the revocation period, driving on a suspended or revoked license is an additional criminal offense under ARS 28-3473.

Civil Liability for Hit-and-Run Drivers

On the civil side, a hit-and-run driver faces the same negligence liability as any other at-fault driver, plus additional consequences.

The act of fleeing the scene is admissible in a civil trial as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Juries draw a natural inference: an innocent person doesn’t run. That evidence can influence fault allocation and damage awards, and it reshapes what the jury hears the moment the defense sits down.

Fleeing also opens the door to punitive damages. Arizona’s “evil mind” standard requires proof that the defendant acted with conscious disregard for others’ safety. Leaving an injured person on the road to avoid accountability meets that standard in many Maricopa County Superior Court cases, and punitive damages can multiply the verdict substantially.

Some Arizona courts have also recognized that the emotional distress caused by a hit-and-run, including the person’s terror at being left injured and alone, supports enhanced non-economic damage awards on top of the base claim.

The problem, of course, is finding the driver. Roughly 90% of hit-and-run cases are never solved nationally. Without an identified defendant, there’s no one to sue.

UM/UIM Coverage When the Driver Flees

When a hit-and-run driver is never identified, the injured person’s own uninsured motorist coverage becomes the primary source of compensation. Arizona law treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist.

Under ARS 20-259.01, every auto insurer in Arizona must offer UM/UIM coverage to its policyholders. The policyholder can reject the coverage in writing, but the offer must be made.

For a UM claim arising from a hit-and-run, most policies require the insured to report the incident to police within 24 hours. Some policies also require that there be physical contact between the hit-and-run vehicle and the insured’s vehicle, or that there be independent witness verification. These requirements exist to prevent fraudulent claims.

The UM coverage limit is whatever the policyholder purchased. Arizona’s minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person. Many people carry UM/UIM limits matching their liability limits. If the injured person’s damages exceed the UM limit, the excess goes uncompensated unless the hit-and-run driver is eventually identified and has assets or insurance.

For pedestrians struck in a hit-and-run, UM coverage from their own auto policy can still apply. Arizona law extends UM/UIM coverage to the policyholder regardless of whether they’re in a vehicle at the time. If a pedestrian with a car and an auto insurance policy is struck by a fleeing driver, their own UM policy can provide coverage.

People who don’t own a car and don’t have an auto insurance policy face a gap. Without UM coverage, there may be no available source of compensation in a hit-and-run case where the driver is never found.

The No-Pay, No-Play Rule: ARS 12-558

Arizona’s no-pay, no-play statute adds a harsh consequence for uninsured drivers who are injured by someone else’s negligence.

ARS 12-558 provides that if the injured person was operating an uninsured motor vehicle at the time of the crash, they can’t recover non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, emotional distress) unless the at-fault driver was convicted of DUI, committed an intentional act, or fled the scene.

This means an uninsured driver struck by a hit-and-run driver can still recover non-economic damages because the at-fault driver fled. The hit-and-run exception protects uninsured people who are hit when the other driver commits a crime.

But an uninsured driver struck by a negligent driver who stays at the scene recovers only economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, property damage). The non-economic damages are cut off entirely.

The no-pay, no-play rule doesn’t reduce economic damages. Medical bills and lost wages are fully recoverable regardless of the injured person’s insurance status. It only affects the non-economic category.

Evidence in Hit-and-Run Cases

Solving a hit-and-run requires evidence that identifies the driver or vehicle. The investigation typically focuses on several categories.

The investigation starts with surveillance footage and physical evidence at the scene. Security cameras from nearby businesses, traffic cameras, and residential doorbell cameras can capture the vehicle, its plate number, or the direction of travel. Footage is often overwritten within days, sometimes within 24 hours at gas stations and ATMs.

Vehicle debris left at the scene tells its own story: paint transfer, broken headlight or taillight pieces, mirror fragments, and bumper components can identify the vehicle’s make, model, and year before anyone runs a plate.

Human sources fill the next layer. Bystanders, other drivers, and nearby residents may have seen the vehicle or recorded information. Cell phone records from the suspected driver, obtained through subpoena, can produce GPS data and cell tower pings that place them at the scene.

Time is the enemy in every hit-and-run investigation. Surveillance footage overwrites. Witnesses forget. Vehicle damage gets repaired. An attorney or investigator should be involved within hours, not days.

Hit-and-Run Involving Pedestrians

Pedestrian hit-and-run cases are particularly severe because the pedestrian has no vehicle to protect them and no vehicle debris to leave on the fleeing car.

When a pedestrian is struck by a hit-and-run driver, the same criminal penalties apply. If the pedestrian suffers serious physical injury or death, the driver faces a class 3 felony. The duty to stop and render aid under ARS 28-661 and ARS 28-663 applies regardless of whether the other party was in a vehicle or on foot.

On the civil side, pedestrian hit-and-run cases are heavily dependent on UM coverage and witness identification. The pedestrian often has fewer resources to absorb uncompensated losses. Brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and multiple fractures produce medical bills that can exceed $500,000 in the first year. Without an identified driver or adequate UM coverage, those bills fall on the injured person.

Our guide to Arizona pedestrian law covers the full statutory framework for pedestrian rights and driver duties. Our client guide on what to do if you’re hit by a car while walking provides step-by-step guidance for the immediate aftermath.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim arising from a hit-and-run is two years from the date of the crash under ARS 12-542. The wrongful death statute of limitations is two years from the date of death under ARS 12-611.

For UM claims against the injured person’s own insurer, the insurance policy’s own limitation provisions apply. Most Arizona auto policies require that a lawsuit against the insurer be filed within two years of the crash. However, policy language varies, and some policies have shorter deadlines.

If a government entity is involved in the crash or the investigation (for example, if a government vehicle was the fleeing vehicle, or if road design contributed to the severity), the 180-day notice of claim under ARS 12-821.01 applies.

There’s no statute of limitations on the criminal prosecution of a felony hit-and-run in Arizona. The state can charge the driver whenever they’re identified, even years after the crash.