Fort Worth Hit and Run DWI Lawyers

How Hit and Run DWI Cases Are Defended

The Knowledge Element on FSRA

FSRA requires that the driver knew or should have known of the accident, the injury, and the duty to stop. A driver who genuinely did not know they had been in an accident (because of low-speed contact, limited visibility, or distraction) has a possible defense to the FSRA charge that may not exist on the DWI charge. This is where careful investigation of the accident scene, vehicle damage patterns, and contemporaneous communications matters. The vendor version of this page identified “lack of knowledge” as a defense; the knowledge element is worth stating in its actual statutory form.

Identity

Where the state must prove that the defendant was the driver, identification issues can arise. Vehicle ownership is not enough; the state must prove the defendant was operating the vehicle at the time of the accident. Surveillance video, witness descriptions, and forensic identification sometimes tell a different story than the state’s initial theory.

Emergency Defense

Under the general Texas necessity and justification framework (Penal Code § 9.22), an emergency situation (such as leaving the scene briefly to avoid a secondary accident or to reach medical assistance) may support a defense. The vendor page identified this as a defense; the necessity defense has specific statutory elements that must be met.

Separating the Two Charges

Because the DWI and FSRA are separate offenses, defense strategies often diverge. The DWI defense turns on probable cause for the stop, field sobriety testing, and forensic analysis of the chemical test. The FSRA defense turns on whether the driver knew or should have known of the injury and whether the state can prove the driver’s identity as the operator at the time of the accident. Each set of issues may support different resolutions.

Forensic Challenges on DWI

Ethanol analysis in Texas is performed by headspace GC-FID. Blood drawn long after the accident (particularly in hit-and-run cases where there may be hours between the accident and the test) raises retrograde extrapolation questions about BAC at the time of driving versus BAC at the time of testing. These are contestable issues that often determine whether the DWI charge holds.

Constitutional and CCP Art. 38.23 Challenges

Stops, searches, arrests, and blood warrants are all subject to constitutional review. Suppression motions apply to both the DWI and the FSRA investigation.

Sentencing Strategy Across Charges

In cases where conviction on one or both charges appears likely, the sentencing strategy must account for both. Probation terms on the DWI must be compatible with probation or sentence on the FSRA. Mitigation evidence (treatment compliance, employment, family, rehabilitation) supports favorable outcomes on both.

Civil Consequences

Beyond the criminal case, a hit-and-run DWI accident exposes the defendant to significant civil liability:

• Compensatory damages under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41 — medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, pain and suffering.
• Exemplary (punitive) damages under § 41.003 for gross negligence. Intoxicated driving that leaves the scene is often treated as gross negligence per se for exemplary-damages purposes.
• Auto insurance policy exclusions for DWI-related accidents, which may leave the defendant personally liable for uninsured damages.
• Potential civil judgment that survives bankruptcy discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(9) (judgment for willful and malicious injury from DWI) meaning the civil judgment can follow the defendant indefinitely.

ALR and Driver’s License Consequences

On top of the criminal and civil consequences, the Administrative License Revocation process applies in the standard DWI ways:

• Failed test: 90-day ALR suspension on a first failed test (longer on repeats).
• Refusal: 180-day ALR suspension on a first refusal (2 years on a repeat).
• ALR hearing deadline: 15 days from the notice of suspension.
• Criminal-court license suspension on conviction: 90 days to 1 year (first DWI), longer on repeats.
• FSRA conviction can trigger independent driver’s license suspension under Transportation Code § 521.312.

Where Tarrant County Hit and Run DWI Cases Are Heard

Misdemeanor cases (first-offense DWI and § 550.022 property-damage FSRA) are filed in the Tarrant County Criminal Courts. Felony cases (§ 550.021 personal injury FSRA, § 49.07 Intoxication Assault, § 49.08 Intoxication Manslaughter, repeat-DWI felony charges) are filed in the Tarrant County District Courts. Both sit at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, 401 West Belknap Street, Fort Worth. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office (led by Phil Sorrells) prosecutes all criminal cases in Tarrant County, both felony and misdemeanor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s actually called “hit and run” in Texas?

Texas doesn’t have a “hit and run” offense by that name. The statute is Transportation Code Chapter 550 Failure to Stop and Render Aid (FSRA) under § 550.021 when injury is involved; Failure to Stop and Give Information under § 550.022 for property-damage accidents. The penalty depends on the severity of the accident.

Is leaving the scene a felony?

It can be. FSRA after an accident involving personal injury is a third-degree felony (2 to 10 years). FSRA after an accident involving serious bodily injury or death is a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years). Property-damage-only FSRA is a Class B or Class C misdemeanor.

Can I be charged with both DWI and FSRA?

Yes, and this is not an unusual charging structure in “hit and run DWI” cases. DWI under Penal Code § 49.04 and FSRA under Transportation Code § 550.021 or § 550.022 are separate offenses with separate elements. They are commonly charged together in one case, with separate punishment ranges.

What if I genuinely didn’t know I was in an accident?

The FSRA statute requires that the driver knew or should have known of the accident, the injury, and the duty to stop. A driver who genuinely did not know of the accident (low-speed contact, limited visibility, distraction) has a potential defense to the FSRA charge. Investigation of the accident scene, vehicle damage, and driver conduct immediately after the alleged accident is often decisive on this element.

Someone was killed. What am I looking at?

FSRA under § 550.021 (serious bodily injury or death) is a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years). Intoxication Manslaughter under Penal Code § 49.08 is also a second-degree felony, and it is on the CCP Article 42A.054 3g list (meaning judge-granted community supervision is not available and Government Code § 508.145(d) imposes 50% parole eligibility). The combined exposure on a hit-and-run DWI fatality case is substantial, and the case requires immediate and thorough defense involvement.

Can I get probation on a hit-and-run DWI case?

Depends on the specific charges. Probation is available on first-offense DWI and on § 550.021 FSRA, though § 550.021 felony cases often carry higher mitigation hurdles. Probation is NOT judge-grantable on Intoxication Manslaughter (3g offense); only a jury can recommend probation on § 49.08.

About Deandra Grant Law

Deandra Grant Law is a Texas criminal defense firm with offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Allen, Denton, Waco, and Rockwall.

Deandra M. Grant, Managing Partner

• More than 30 years in practice, focused on criminal defense and DWI
• Former prosecutor
• J.D.; M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology
• ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist from the American Chemical Society
• Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) Instructor
• Texas Super Lawyer since 2011
• Author of 17 law books including The Texas DWI Manual
• AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Executive Director, DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA)

Douglas E. Huff, Partner

• ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist
• Digital forensics and electronic evidence training
• Extensive Texas trial experience

James Lee Bright, Of Counsel

• National federal criminal defense practice
• Admitted to all four Texas federal districts (including the Northern District of Texas, which covers Tarrant County), the District of Columbia, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States

Contact Our Fort Worth Hit and Run DWI Attorneys

Hit and run DWI cases move quickly. Accident reconstruction, witness interviews, vehicle inspection, and surveillance video collection all have limited windows before evidence degrades. And the decision to charge FSRA as a felony or misdemeanor often turns on the characterization of the victim’s injury. 

Call Deandra Grant Law at (214) 225-7117 to schedule a consultation. We serve Fort Worth, Arlington, North Richland Hills, Mansfield, Southlake, Grapevine, and all of Tarrant County from our Fort Worth office.