Leaving the Scene of an Accident in Massachusetts (M.G.L. c. 90, §§ 24, 26)

The Statutes: M.G.L. c. 90, §§ 24 and 26

Massachusetts imposes separate criminal duties on a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident depending on whether the accident caused property damage only or personal injury. The statutes are M.G.L. c. 90, § 24 (leaving the scene of a personal injury accident) and M.G.L. c. 90, § 26 (leaving the scene of a property damage accident). The penalties differ significantly between the two.

Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury Accident: M.G.L. c. 90, § 24

When a motor vehicle accident causes personal injury to any person other than the operator, the operator is required to stop immediately, provide their name, address, and registration number to the injured person or to a police officer at the scene, and provide reasonable assistance including calling for medical assistance if it appears that a person requires it. Failure to comply with any of these obligations is a felony under M.G.L. c. 90, § 24(2)(a) (a specific provision of Section 24 covering accidents involving personal injury), punishable by:

• A fine of $500 to $1,000.
• Not less than six months and not more than two years in a house of correction, or not less than one year and not more than two and one-half years in a state prison.
• A license revocation of not less than one year, imposed by the RMV.

The felony classification means the case may be indicted and prosecuted in Superior Court. The license revocation is mandatory and runs for at least one year regardless of the sentence imposed.

Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident: M.G.L. c. 90, § 26

When an accident causes damage to attended or unattended property, the driver is required to stop, provide identifying information to the owner of the damaged property or to a police officer, and file a report with the nearest police department within 24 hours when the damage appears to exceed $1,000. Failure to stop and identify is a misdemeanor under M.G.L. c. 90, § 26 punishable by:

• A fine of $20 to $200.
• Up to two years in a house of correction.
• A license suspension of up to one year, which the court may impose.

The Identification Exception to the Citation Rule

Leaving the scene cases frequently arise when the operator was not present when police arrived at the scene. Under M.G.L. c. 90C, § 2, the no-fix law ordinarily requires an officer to issue a citation to the driver at the scene. An exception applies when the officer cannot identify the driver at the scene. In leaving the scene cases, the officer identifies the registered owner or operator later through RMV records, witnesses, or video and issues the citation by mail. The mailed citation triggers the same clerk-magistrate hearing right as a citation issued at the scene, but the four-day deadline runs from the date of the alleged offense rather than the date the citation was received.

A defendant who receives a mailed citation for leaving the scene may not realize the four-day deadline has already passed or is imminent. Checking the date of the alleged offense against the date the citation was received is the first thing defense counsel does. If the delay between the date of the offense and the date the officer identified the driver was unreasonable, a motion to dismiss based on a failure to comply with the citation requirement is available. See: The Criminal Uniform Traffic Citation and the 4-Day Deadline.

What the Commonwealth Must Prove

For leaving the scene of a personal injury accident under M.G.L. c. 90, § 24:

• The defendant operated a motor vehicle on a public way.
• The vehicle was involved in an accident in which another person was injured.
• The defendant knew or reasonably should have known that the accident caused injury.
• The defendant failed to stop, provide identification, or render assistance.

The knowledge element, that the defendant knew or should have known that an accident causing injury occurred, is frequently contested. A driver who felt a minor impact and believed contact was with a curb or road debris, who did not see another person involved, or who stopped briefly and observed no apparent injury may have lacked the required knowledge.

Leaving the Scene and OUI

Leaving the scene charges frequently accompany OUI charges when an impaired driver is involved in an accident and leaves the scene before police arrive. When both charges arise from the same incident, a suppression of the traffic stop or the vehicle identification evidence affects both. A not-guilty verdict on the OUI charge does not automatically result in a dismissal of the leaving the scene charge, the two charges are prosecuted independently. See: Fighting an OUI in Massachusetts: How Cases Are Won at Trial.

Defense

Lack of knowledge that an accident involving injury occurred. The Commonwealth must prove the defendant knew or should have known that another person was injured. A driver who did not see another person involved and who believed the contact was minor or non-injurious may not have had the required knowledge.

The defendant did stop and provide information. When a driver stopped, exchanged information with another driver or a witness, and then left before police arrived, the elements of the offense may not be satisfied even if police later cite the driver for leaving the scene.

Challenging vehicle identification. In cases where the driver was not identified at the scene, the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant was the operator of the vehicle at the time of the accident. RMV registration records identify the owner, not necessarily the operator. A defendant who was not driving the vehicle at the time of the accident was not the operator.

The citation rule. An unreasonable delay between the date of the accident and the date the officer identified the driver and issued the citation may support a motion to dismiss under M.G.L. c. 90C, § 2.

Suppression of evidence. When police identified the driver through a vehicle search, a home visit, or other investigative technique that violated the Fourth Amendment or Article 14, the identification evidence may be suppressed. See: Illegal Searches and Seizures in Massachusetts.

Related Pages

• Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Crimes Defense, Hub Page
• Negligent and Reckless Operation (M.G.L. c. 90, § 24(2)(a))
• Operating After Suspension and Unlicensed Operation
• Operating to Endanger and Motor Vehicle Homicide
• OUI Defense in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts OUI License Suspensions
• Clerk-Magistrate Hearings in Massachusetts
• The Criminal Uniform Traffic Citation and the 4-Day Deadline
• Illegal Searches and Seizures in Massachusetts
• Immigration Consequences of Massachusetts Criminal Charges

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