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After A Crash

ORC 4549.02 — the duty that is absolute

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Stopping after a crash is one of the few duties in this whole file with no balancing test attached. Whatever else is true about the situation, and however frightened anyone is, the obligation to stop and exchange information does not bend.

  • Stop at or as near to the scene as possible, and stay there.
  • Give your name, address, and vehicle registration number to the other driver and to any officer at the scene.
  • Where the other vehicle is unattended, the same information has to be left for its owner.
  • Remain until an officer arrives, unless you are taken from the scene by an ambulance or emergency vehicle.
  • A crash somewhere other than a public road, a parking lot for instance, is governed by its own section with the same shape.
What leaving costs, by what the crash did
  1. 1Property damage only

    First degree misdemeanor

    The officer needs
    Nothing beyond the failure to stop and exchange.
    You owe
    Up to 180 days and a licence suspension the judge cannot suspend the first six months of.
  2. 2Serious physical harm

    Fifth degree felony

    The officer needs
    Serious physical harm to a person from the crash.
    You owe
    Six to twelve months, and the suspension still applies.
  3. 3Death

    Third degree felony

    The officer needs
    A death resulting from the crash.
    You owe
    Nine months to five years depending on the range that applies.
Being afraid of the other driver is not a defence to leaving. It is an understandable reason and it is not a legal one. The route the law leaves open is to call 911 and stay on the line rather than to drive away, because driving away converts a civil insurance matter into a criminal charge in your name.

What you owe the other driver and what you owe an investigation are different things. The information the statute lists is required. An account of how it happened, given at the roadside, is not.

Where proof of financial responsibility is not produced, a court may order restitution for economic loss from the crash up to a statutory cap.

Sources for this section (6)
  1. ORC 4549.02 — Stopping after an accident on a public road, and exchanging information
  2. ORC 4549.021 — Stopping after an accident somewhere other than a public road
  3. ORC 2929.24 — Definite jail terms for misdemeanors
  4. ORC 2929.14 — Definite prison terms for felonies
  5. U.S. Const. amend. V — Rights in criminal cases, self incrimination
  6. ORC 4509.101 — Proof of financial responsibility required to operate a motor vehicle

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.

MyRightz is legal education, not legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney client relationship. For your specific situation talk to a licensed Ohio attorney.

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