The moment a crash involves an injury, leaving the scene stops being a traffic matter and becomes a felony. How serious a felony depends entirely on how badly the other person was hurt, not on who caused the crash. That second point catches many people off guard: you can be charged with this felony even if the crash was not your fault, simply because you left.
| Crash result | Charge | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Injury, not serious | Third-degree felony (s. 316.027(2)(a)) | Up to 5 years and a $5,000 fine. |
| Serious bodily injury | Second-degree felony (s. 316.027(2)(b)) | Up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine. |
| Property damage only | Second-degree misdemeanor (s. 316.061) | Up to 60 days, the non-felony version. |
Degrees track the harm, not fault for the crash. A driver who did not cause the crash can still face these charges for leaving. Serious bodily injury has the same statutory definition used elsewhere in chapter 316. Figures last verified June 2026.
Two felonies, set by the injury
Under section 316.027, leaving a crash that caused injury other than serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years. Leaving a crash that caused serious bodily injury is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to fifteen. The only non-felony version is a property-damage-only hit and run under a separate statute, which is a misdemeanor. So the practical reality is that any injury crash you leave is a felony, and the degree rides on the severity of the harm.
Where serious bodily injury is contested
Because the difference between a third-degree and a second-degree felony is whether the injury was serious, that definition is a live issue. Serious bodily injury means an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ. Plenty of real injuries do not meet that bar. Challenging the medical evidence, and arguing that the injury, though real, was not legally serious, can move a case from second-degree to third-degree exposure. The serious bodily injury page covers that same definitional fight in the DUI context.
The knowledge and willfulness the State has to prove
Leaving the scene is a willful crime, which means the State has to prove more than that you drove away. Under State v. Dorsett, 158 So. 3d 557 (Fla. 2015), it has to prove you had actual knowledge that a crash occurred, and under the earlier State v. Mancuso, 652 So. 2d 370 (Fla. 1995), and the standard jury instruction it has to prove you knew or should have known, from the nature of the crash, that someone was hurt, before it can show you willfully failed to stop, give your information, and render aid. Where the contact was minor, where you did not realize an injury had occurred, or where nothing about the circumstances would have told a reasonable driver that someone was hurt, one of those elements can fail. That is frequently the center of the defense.
No mandatory minimum, but real exposure
Unlike the fatal version of this charge, the injury and serious-bodily-injury versions carry no mandatory minimum, so a judge has room at sentencing. That does not make them minor. Victim injury points on the sentencing scoresheet can still drive a presumptive prison sentence, and a felony conviction carries its own permanent consequences for your record, your firearm rights, and many professional licenses. The goal is usually to defeat the charge, reduce the degree, or keep the conviction off your record entirely. The leaving the scene with death page covers the far more serious fatal version.
The license and the record
A conviction brings a minimum three-year license revocation, and Florida requires completion of a 12-hour Advanced Driver Improvement course before you can apply for a hardship license. Between the felony record and the license consequence, even the third-degree version of this charge is worth taking seriously from the first day.
I started out as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Tampa, and today I am one of six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in Florida. These are the cases where the science and the causation decide everything, where an unreliable blood result or an unproven causal link is the difference between a manslaughter conviction and a far lesser charge. I bring the forensic and the crash-reconstruction fight that these cases turn on. Learn more about my background.
Related: the serious and felony DUI overview, leaving the scene with death, DUI with serious bodily injury, vehicular homicide, and search and seizure.
Florida leaving the scene with injury questions
Is leaving the scene of an accident with injury a felony in Florida?
Yes, when someone is hurt. Leaving a crash that caused injury is a third-degree felony, and leaving one that caused serious bodily injury is a second-degree felony. Only a property-damage-only hit and run is a misdemeanor. So once there is an injury, the exposure is felony-level.
What is the difference between injury and serious bodily injury here?
It sets the felony degree. An ordinary injury makes it a third-degree felony with up to five years. A serious bodily injury, meaning one that creates a substantial risk of death, serious disfigurement, or protracted loss of function, makes it a second-degree felony with up to fifteen. Whether the injury is legally serious is often contested, and it is worth contesting.
Is there a mandatory minimum?
No. Unlike leaving the scene of a fatal crash, the injury and serious-bodily-injury versions carry no mandatory minimum prison term, so a judge has discretion at sentencing. That said, victim injury points on the sentencing scoresheet can still push toward prison, so the exposure is real.
What does the State have to prove?
That you were the driver in a crash that caused injury, that you knew a crash occurred and knew or should have known that someone was hurt, and that you willfully failed to stop, give information, or render aid. The knowledge and willfulness elements are where many of these cases turn.
Will I lose my license?
Yes. A conviction for leaving the scene of a crash involving injury carries a minimum three-year license revocation, and you must complete a 12-hour Advanced Driver Improvement course before you can seek a hardship license.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The charges discussed here are governed by sections 316.193(3), 316.027, 327.35, and 782.071, Florida Statutes, and the 2025 changes under Trenton’s Law apply to offenses on or after October 1, 2025. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
