What happens if the driver who hit you left the scene in Georgia?

Georgia’s hit and run law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270, requires a driver in any crash with injury, death, or vehicle damage to stop, give their name, address, and registration, and help anyone hurt. Leaving the scene of a serious injury crash is a felony. For your injury claim, a fleeing driver means your own uninsured motorist coverage pays.

What does O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270 say?

The published heading is “Hit and run; duty of driver to stop at or return to scene of accident.” Subsection (a) begins:

The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or the death of any person or in damage to a vehicle which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of the accident or shall stop as close thereto as possible and forthwith return to the scene of the accident

The driver must then give their name, address, and registration number, show a license on request, render reasonable aid to anyone injured, and make a reasonable effort to reach emergency services if an injured person is unconscious or cannot communicate. Subsection (b) makes leaving the scene of a crash that proximately causes death or serious injury a felony, one to five years. Subsection (c) makes other cases a misdemeanor with fines that cannot be suspended. Last amended in 2008 (Ga. L. 2008, p. 1164, SB 529).

What does it mean for you?

This is a criminal statute, and the police and prosecutor handle that side. What matters for your injury claim is different. A driver who fled is usually never identified, and even when they are, a person who leaves the scene of a crash rarely has good insurance. So the practical question becomes: who pays for your injuries?

In Georgia the answer is your own uninsured motorist coverage. A hit and run driver is treated as an uninsured driver. If you carry UM, your policy pays, and the amount depends on the limits you bought and whether you have add-on or reduced-by coverage. If you do not carry UM, the options narrow quickly, which is why we ask about it in the first call.

What should you do at the scene? Get the plate if you can, even partial. Note the make, model, color, and direction. Call 911 so the police report says hit and run from the start. Ask nearby businesses whether they have cameras before the footage is overwritten, which can be as little as 48 hours. Every one of those steps makes the UM claim stronger and gives the police something to work with.

Related Georgia laws

• O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11: your uninsured motorist coverage, which pays when the driver fled
• O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72: how to get the crash report
• O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33: the two year deadline to file an injury lawsuit

Sources

• Official Code of Georgia Annotated on legis.ga.gov (official text)
• O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270 on Justia (2025 Georgia Code)
• Text verified against the published code on 2026-10-16. Statute text is public record. Nothing on this page is legal advice about your specific case.

What should you do next?

If the driver who hit you took off, you are not out of options. The first 48 hours decide what evidence survives. Call us from the scene if you can.

Call Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. at 770-820-0711, any hour, any day. The call is free, the case review is free, and there is zero fee unless we win. Nine offices across Georgia, and we come to you if you cannot come to us.

One more thing. Don’t sign anything from an insurance company before you talk to a lawyer. A signature on the wrong form can give away rights you did not know you had.