Dallas Hit and Run DWI Lawyers

A hit and run DWI in Texas is not one charge but potentially two. The DWI is prosecuted under Texas Penal Code § 49.04 as either a Class B or Class A misdemeanor (with felony elevations for prior convictions, serious injury, or death). The “hit and run” is prosecuted separately as Failure to Stop and Render Aid (FSRA) under Texas Transportation Code §§ 550.021 through 550.026. Depending on what happened at the scene, FSRA can be a $500 Class C ticket or a second-degree felony with exposure to twenty years in state prison. Which one it becomes depends on whether someone was hurt and, critically, on what the state can prove about what the driver knew.

Deandra Grant Law represents people charged with DWI and FSRA in Dallas County. Call (214) 225-7117 to discuss your case.

“Hit and Run” Is Not a Texas Statute

Texas does not have an offense called “hit and run.” The phrase describes a fact pattern (a collision followed by a departure) that is prosecuted under Chapter 550 of the Transportation Code. The statute used depends on what the vehicle struck:

• § 550.021 — accidents involving personal injury or death of a person.
• § 550.022 — accidents involving damage to another vehicle.
• § 550.024 — striking an unattended vehicle.
• § 550.025 — striking a fixture, highway landscaping, or a structure.

Section 550.023 separately imposes a duty to give information and render aid and is frequently charged alongside § 550.021.

Failure to Stop and Render Aid — § 550.021

The most serious hit-and-run offense applies when the collision involves personal injury or death. Under § 550.021(a), a driver involved in such an accident must:

• Immediately stop the vehicle at the scene or as close to the scene as possible.
• Return to the scene if the driver did not stop there initially.
• Remain at the scene until the driver has complied with the information and aid requirements of § 550.023.

The statute imposes three separate punishment tiers based on what the accident caused:

If the Accident Caused Death

• Second-degree felony.
• 2 to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
• Fine up to $10,000.
• If community supervision is granted, § 550.021(d) imposes a mandatory minimum 120-day jail term as a condition of probation.

If the Accident Caused Serious Bodily Injury

• Third-degree felony.
• 2 to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
• Fine up to $10,000.

If the Accident Caused Non-Serious Bodily Injury

• Up to 5 years in state prison, or up to 1 year in county jail.
• Fine up to $5,000, or both the fine and imprisonment.

Failure to Stop and Give Information — § 550.022 (Property Damage)

When the only damage is to another vehicle, the offense is § 550.022. The driver must stop, move to a safe location, and exchange the information required by § 550.023 (name, address, registration, insurance, and driver’s license on request). Penalties are driven by the amount of damage:

• Damage less than $200: Class C misdemeanor, fine up to $500.
• Damage $200 or more: Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in county jail and a fine up to $2,000.

DWI Under Penal Code § 49.04

The DWI portion of a hit-and-run DWI is prosecuted under the same statute that covers any DWI. A person is intoxicated under § 49.01(2) when the person does not have the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of alcohol, drugs, or a combination, or has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.

DWI punishment depends on the facts:

• First offense: Class B misdemeanor. 72 hours to 180 days in county jail and a fine up to $2,000.
• First offense with BAC 0.15 or higher: Class A misdemeanor. Up to 1 year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000. Mandatory ignition interlock under CCP Article 17.441.
• First offense with an open container: Minimum 6 days in jail.
• Repeat DWI, child passenger DWI, intoxication assault, and intoxication manslaughter carry their own statutes and enhanced exposure (covered separately on the firm’s Multiple DWI, Felony DWI, and DWI Injury pages).

How DWI and FSRA Stack

DWI and FSRA are separate offenses with separate elements. A single incident can result in two charges. The way the state stacks them matters:

• Class B DWI + § 550.022 Class B property damage FSRA: both misdemeanor. A client walks out of the courthouse with exposure to a year in county jail on each, but neither case is a felony.
• Class B DWI + § 550.021 third-degree felony FSRA (serious bodily injury): the DWI is still a misdemeanor, but the FSRA is a felony. The client is now facing a felony record.
• Class B DWI + § 550.021 second-degree felony FSRA (death): the FSRA carries a 2-to-20 punishment range with the 120-day mandatory jail term if probated. At this point, the DWI is the less serious of the two cases.
• When the state can also prove that the intoxication caused the injury or death, intoxication assault (§ 49.07) or intoxication manslaughter (§ 49.08) may be charged in parallel with FSRA. The DWI charge ordinarily folds into the intoxication assault or manslaughter count in that situation.

Elements and Defenses

FSRA requires the state to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt:

• That the defendant was the driver or operator of a vehicle involved in an accident;
• That the defendant knew or should have known that the accident occurred; and
• That the defendant failed to stop, remain at the scene, provide the required information, or render reasonable aid.

That first set of elements is the defense map. A real Texas hit-and-run defense examines each of them:

Knowledge of the Accident

The defendant must have known, or under circumstances should have known, that an accident occurred. A driver who unknowingly struck a stationary object at low speed, who thought the impact was with a pothole or debris, or who did not realize that a pedestrian or cyclist was involved may lack the required knowledge. Knowledge is a fact question and is frequently contested with the help of accident reconstruction, vehicle inspection, and investigation of the lighting, weather, and road conditions at the scene.

Driver Identity

In many hit-and-run prosecutions, the state relies on eyewitness descriptions, license plate identifications, video, and circumstantial evidence to prove who was driving. Identification challenges (especially where the investigation was conducted hours or days after the incident) can be dispositive.

The “Return to the Scene” Provision

Section 550.021 contemplates a driver who did not stop initially but returned. A driver who left temporarily (for safety, to summon help, or because of disorientation after impact) and then returned to the scene can argue compliance with the statute, depending on the timing and the circumstances.

Safety of Stopping

Drivers are not required to create additional hazards by stopping in a location where stopping would be unsafe. The statute contemplates stopping as close to the scene as possible without obstructing traffic more than necessary. Where scene safety was a real concern (ex. a fast-moving highway, active traffic) the timing and location of any subsequent stop is contestable.

DWI Defenses Separately

The DWI portion of the case has its own defense framework. Field sobriety test administration, blood and breath test validity, probable cause for the stop, Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues, and the reliability of the state’s forensic evidence are all contestable under the same framework as any DWI.