Leaving an accident scene transforms a simple fender bender into a criminal case. Colorado law requires drivers involved in accidents to stop and exchange information, and failure to remain at the scene carries criminal penalties, heavy fines, and points that threaten your license. What seems like a minor mistake in the moment can result in charges far more serious than the original accident.
We defend clients throughout Colorado against failure to remain charges. With over 22 years of criminal defense experience and recognition from the National Trial Lawyers and Superlawyers, our team knows how to challenge these cases and protect your driving privileges.
Colorado Law on Remaining at the Scene
Colorado requires drivers involved in accidents to stop immediately at the scene or as close as safely possible. You must remain at the scene until you’ve exchanged information with other parties and, if there’s injury or significant property damage, until police arrive. The law applies whether you think the accident was your fault or not.
What the Law Requires You to Do
After an accident, you must provide your name, address, vehicle registration number, and driver’s license to the other driver. If you strike an unattended vehicle, you must leave a note with your information in a visible location and notify law enforcement within 24 hours of the accident. This reporting requirement is mandatory, and working with an attorney at Shazam Kianpour & Associates can help you navigate this process properly, including assistance with online reporting options that may be less stressful than appearing at a police station. For accidents involving injury, death, or property damage over $1,000, you must immediately notify law enforcement.
Many drivers don’t realize they were in an accident until later. A slight bump in a parking lot, contact with a side mirror in traffic, or a tap while parallel parking may go unnoticed. If you didn’t know an accident occurred, you can’t be guilty of intentionally leaving the scene, but you’ll need to prove you lacked knowledge of the collision.
Types of Failure to Remain Charges
Colorado separates failure to remain charges by severity. The consequences depend on whether the accident involved only property damage, injury, or death.
Property Damage Only
When an accident causes only property damage, leaving the scene is typically a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense. This charge carries up to 90 days in jail, fines up to $300, and six points on your license. While 90 days in jail is rare for first-time offenders in property damage cases, the points alone can suspend your license if you have other violations.
Accidents Involving Injury
Leaving the scene of an accident involving injury escalates to a Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense. Penalties include up to one year in jail, fines up to $1,000, and 12 points on your license. The 12-point penalty triggers automatic license suspension because Colorado suspends licenses at 12 points within 12 months. This charge applies even if the injuries seem minor at the time of the accident.
Accidents Involving Serious Injury or Death
If an accident causes serious bodily injury or death, leaving the scene becomes a Class 4 felony. Penalties include two to six years in prison, fines up to $500,000, and 12 points on your license. Prosecutors charge this offense aggressively, and convictions create permanent felony records that affect employment, housing, and civil rights.
Common Defenses to Failure to Remain Charges
Several defenses can defeat failure to remain charges or reduce them to lesser offenses. The most effective defense depends on the specific circumstances of your case.
You may not have known an accident occurred. Slight contact with another vehicle in heavy traffic, bumping a parked car while maneuvering in a tight spot, or contact during a lane change might go completely unnoticed. Without knowledge of the accident, you cannot have intentionally left the scene. Evidence like traffic camera footage, witness statements about traffic conditions, and the minimal damage to vehicles all support this defense.
The accident may not have met the legal threshold for stopping. Colorado law requires stopping only when an accident causes injury, death, or property damage. If you brushed against vegetation, struck a shopping cart, or had contact that caused no actual damage, the failure to remain statute may not apply. Photos showing no damage to either vehicle support this defense.
Safety concerns sometimes justify leaving immediately. If you’re in a dangerous location like a blind curve, narrow bridge, or active traffic lane, moving to a safe location before stopping is reasonable. If other parties at the scene acted aggressively or threatened you, leaving to find police may be your safest option. You must report the accident promptly in these situations, but moving to safety doesn’t constitute leaving the scene illegally.
The Investigation Process
When someone reports a hit and run, police investigate by documenting damage, interviewing witnesses, and reviewing any available video footage. They may locate your vehicle through witness descriptions, partial license plate information, or automated license plate readers. Traffic cameras, business security footage, and doorbell cameras increasingly provide evidence in these cases.
If police identify you as a suspect, they may contact you for an interview or issue a summons to appear in court. Sometimes they’ll seek an arrest warrant, especially in cases involving injury. Never discuss the accident with police without an attorney present. Statements you make trying to explain or minimize the situation often become the strongest evidence against you. Saying you didn’t think the contact was serious or that you were running late admits you knew about the accident and chose to leave.
Consequences Beyond Criminal Penalties
Criminal penalties represent only part of what you face after a failure to remain charge. The quick accumulation of points from a failure to remain conviction can suspend your driving privileges, especially if you already have points from other violations. Colorado suspends licenses at 12 points in 12 months or 18 points in 24 months, so a failure to remain charge alone can trigger suspension.
Insurance companies treat hit and run charges seriously. Your rates may increase 50 to 100 percent or more following a conviction. Some insurers drop drivers entirely after hit and run convictions, forcing you into high-risk insurance pools that cost significantly more than standard policies. These rate increases continue for three to five years.
Employment suffers when you have a hit and run conviction. Jobs requiring driving become impossible during license suspension. Employers in other fields may view the conviction as evidence of dishonesty or poor judgment. Professional licenses in fields like healthcare, education, and finance may face discipline for criminal convictions, even misdemeanors.
Civil lawsuits often follow criminal charges. The other driver can sue you for vehicle damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Your decision to leave the scene can be used against you in civil court to show consciousness of guilt or reckless behavior. Some courts allow punitive damages in cases involving hit and run, multiplying your financial liability.
Why You Need Legal Representation
Failure to remain charges carry too many serious consequences to handle alone. Prosecutors take these cases seriously because leaving an accident scene shows disregard for others’ welfare. Without strong legal defense, you face conviction, jail time, license suspension, and the long-term consequences that follow.
An experienced attorney challenges the evidence, negotiates with prosecutors, and presents defenses that protect your rights. We examine whether police followed proper procedures, whether the evidence actually proves you knew about the accident, and whether the accident met the legal threshold for stopping. Often, we can negotiate reduced charges or alternative sentencing that minimizes the impact on your life.
Contact Shazam Kianpour & Associates
Failure to remain at the scene charges threaten your freedom, your license, and your future. Mr. Shazam Kianpour graduated top of his class in Criminal Law at law school and has defended thousands of traffic and criminal cases throughout Colorado over 22 years of practice. Our firm’s recognition from the National Trial Lawyers and Superlawyers reflects our commitment to aggressive, effective defense.
Whether you’re under investigation or already charged, early legal representation makes the difference between conviction and dismissal or reduction. We handle cases throughout the Denver Front Range and across Colorado, and we offer teleconferencing for clients unable to travel. Contact us today to discuss your failure to remain charge and learn how we can defend your case and protect your driving record.