What to Do After a Hit-And-Run in Mississippi

Do’s

If someone hits your car and then immediately leaves the scene, follow these steps:

1. Seek medical attention if you’re injured. 911 should be your first call if you’re hurt.
2. Gather evidence at the scene. You’ll need to jot down as much information as possible about the other vehicle and driver. Data to collect includes:
   • Make and model of the other car
   • License plate number and state
   • Direction the vehicle was going
   • Photos of the accident scene, such as damage to your vehicle and any glass or other debris on the roadway, etc.
3. Talk to any witnesses. Get contact details about anyone who saw what happened and record their statements about the other driver and vehicle. Request permission to pass along their name to the police and insurance company.
4. Contact the police. Like many states, Mississippi requires drivers to report an accident that involves a fatality, injuries, or property damage of more than $500.
5. Call your insurance company. To file an insurance claim, you’ll need to do so within three years of the hit-and-run accident for both a personal injury claim and a property damage claim in Mississippi.¹

If you discover damage to your parked vehicle, you should follow the same steps.

Don’t

Here’s what you shouldn’t do after a car accident:

1. Neglect to phone the police. Remember, Mississippi requires you to inform the police of any accident involving death, injuries, or more than $500 of property damage. Also, a record of the incident will help when filing with your insurance company.
2. Skip filing a claim. If you don’t contact your insurance company, you’ll be on the hook to pay for all related expenses, such as repairs and doctor bills.
3. Try to stop the driver from fleeing the scene. Besides being dangerous to you, you could miss vital witnesses, who might not wait for your return.
4. Vacate the scene yourself too soon. You should stay at the scene until you’ve contacted the police and talked to potential witnesses.

The best-case scenario to recover damages in a hit-and-run accident is to locate the driver who hit you, then file a third-party claim with their insurance company. You also could file a personal injury lawsuit. However, since Mississippi is a fault state based on tort liability, each party involved in an accident is required to pay for damages tied to their at-fault degree. However, if one party doesn’t agree with the amount, they may file a lawsuit to recover uncompensated damages.

If you aren’t able to discover the identity of the other driver, you’ll need to go through your own insurance provider with a first-party claim to recover any damages related to the accident.

Does Car Insurance Cover Hit-and-Runs?

Your car insurance will cover hit-and-runs only if you have the following types of auto insurance in Mississippi:

• Collision coverage: Collision coverage will pay for damage to your vehicle no matter who causes the accident.
• Medical payments (MedPay) coverage: MedPay will cover bills related to injuries to you and your passengers.
• Uninsured motorist coverage: Uninsured motorist coverage will pay for your injuries and damages if the other driver doesn’t have insurance or flees the scene of an accident.

Your insurance rates could rise if you file a first-party claim for a hit-and-run with your insurance company. To avoid paying more, file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance provider, if you can find out who they are.

The number of fatal hit-and-run accidents per 100,000 Mississippi residents came in at 0.33 in 2016. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Motor Vehicle Crash Data, between 2017 and 2021, hit-and-run accidents in the Magnolia State caused more than 100 fatalities.

Overall, according to NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis, passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in traffic crashes in 2021 occurred between 3 percent and 50 percent of the time, depending on vehicle type, in Mississippi.²

In Mississippi, you are legally required to report the accident if it results in death, injury, or property damage of more than $500, and you must do so within 10 days of the incident. Failure to do so could result in license suspension.

Penalties

The penalties for hit-and-runs in Mississippi are tied to the severity of the incident. Here is a general guide to how the state determines those penalties. For hit-and-runs involving a fatality or severe injuries, the state often will assign felony charges to the driver.

Remember, it’s always best to remain at the scene of the accident until police come or you exchange information with the other driver for minor fender benders. Keep your own car insurance up to date to ensure you have full protection. Full coverage, unlike the minimum insurance requirements in Mississippi, will cover your and your passengers’ injuries and damages, even if you don’t know who hit you.