A hit and run accident is one where the at-fault driver flees the scene of the crash before the police arrive. This is not only extremely dangerous but also a serious crime. You deserve fair compensation for your injuries, but you must first call the police to help you find the other driver.
The police may respond to a hit and run almost immediately. If you are injured in a hit and run accident, call 911 and explain the situation. If you can describe the other driver and their vehicle, the police may hit the street right away to find them. Once the police find the other driver, they can investigate the accident and uncover evidence. This evidence may be used in the other driver’s criminal case and your civil lawsuit for damages.
Contact our Arkansas car accident lawyers for a free legal analysis of your case by calling (479) 316-0438.
How Do the Police in Arkansas Investigate Hit and Run Accidents?
The police often move quickly to investigate hit and run accidents because there is a chance they can apprehend the other driver on the road shortly after the accident. Even if the other driver is not apprehended right away, the police know how to investigate to locate the driver.
Immediate Response from Law Enforcement
You should call 911 immediately after a hit and run accident. At that point, the other driver is likely still on the road, and police officers in the area may be quickly dispatched to find the driver.
The more information you can provide about the driver (e.g., physical descriptions, vehicle models and colors), the easier it may be for the police to quickly find and arrest the driver who hit you.
Documenting the Accident Scene
As you wait for the police to arrive and begin their investigation, you can take steps to preserve evidence and information.
Photograph the scene, including any damage to your vehicle. If you had a dashcam in your car at the time of the accident, take steps to ensure that the footage is saved and inform the police about it when they arrive.
You should also make some notes about what you saw, focusing on the other driver.
- Did you see their face?
- What kind of vehicle were they driving?
- Which direction did they drive off?
- Did you get a full or partial license plate number?
Assessing Your Vehicle for Evidence
Once the police arrive, they may assess your vehicle for evidence about the other driver. For example, when two vehicles collide, the paint from each vehicle may scratch off on the other. The police can examine these paint scratches to determine the make and model of the other vehicle.
Reviewing Surveillance Videos
The police are familiar with how to investigate accidents and hit and runs, and they may quickly go to places where they know evidence is likely to be.
For example, the police may quickly contact businesses and homes near the accident site to see if they have security or surveillance cameras. If there is, the police may obtain and review footage of the accident to help them find the other driver.
Locating and Interviewing Witnesses
The police will also want to talk to people who might not have been involved in the accident but saw it happen. If the hit and run occurred while other drivers were behind you or alongside you in an adjacent lane, they may have seen everything.
Their statements may help the police locate the hit and run driver, and their testimony may be crucial to your case.
How the Police May Help Your Civil Lawsuit for a Hit and Run Accident
While the police may investigate for the purposes of building a criminal case against the other driver, their efforts may also help your civil claims for damages.
Finding the At-Fault Driver
Perhaps the most important way that the police can help with your civil lawsuit is by actually tracking down the driver who hit you.
As mentioned, the police may spring into action quickly after you report the accident. It is often easier for law enforcement to catch up with hit and run drivers while they are still on the road, so they may take a quick description of their vehicle and immediately start looking for them.
Evidence
The police will investigate the accident scene for evidence to help them track down the other driver. Once they locate the other driver, they may find additional evidence of the accident on the other driver’s vehicle (e.g., damage and paint scratches).
Evidence discovered by the police during a criminal investigation may be used to support your civil lawsuit against the other driver. However, civil lawsuits tend to take a backseat to criminal proceedings, and our Batesville, AR car accident lawyers may need to wait for the defendant’s criminal trial to be completed before your lawsuit can move forward.
Police Reports
It may be difficult for us to pull together all the evidence the police have uncovered. As such, we may want to review the formal police reports on the evidence first so we know what we are dealing with.
While police reports may be helpful guides that may lead us to evidence, the reports themselves are generally considered inadmissible hearsay.
FAQs About How the Police Investigate Hit and Run Accidents in Arkansas
How Soon After a Hit and Run Should You Call the Police?
Call the police immediately after a hit and run. The sooner you call the police, the faster they can begin looking for the other driver, and the more likely they will locate them. Many hit and run drivers are found the same day as the accident is reported to the police.
How Can the Police Help You After a Hit and Run in Arkansas?
The police may launch a full criminal investigation into the accident. They may uncover evidence from the accident that links it to the other driver. While this evidence and information may be used in a criminal trial, it can also come up in your civil lawsuit and help you get fair compensation.
How Do You Get Compensation for a Hit and Run Accident?
After a hit and run, you may sue the other driver for damages, but this may be difficult or even impossible if we do not know who they are.
If you cannot locate them, you might be able to use your own insurance. Any first-party benefits, like collision coverage, will pay for certain damages after you pay a deductible. If you have uninsured motorist insurance (UM), it may also cover your crash as though the hit-and-run driver was uninsured.
What Happens After the Police Locate the At-Fault Driver in a Hit and Run Accident?
Once the police find the other driver, they will likely be arrested and taken into police custody for questioning. The police may uncover additional information that we can use to support your civil claims for damages, so it is important that we keep up with the criminal proceedings.
Discuss Your Legal Options with Our Arkansas Car Accident Lawyers
Contact our Fayetteville, AR car accident lawyers for a free legal analysis of your case by calling (479) 316-0438.