Hit-and-Run Collisions in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has more hit-and-run collisions than any other American city—LAPD has recorded well over 20,000 per year for more than a decade, roughly half of all collisions in the city, and in some years a majority of pedestrian deaths involved a driver who fled. The reasons are debated: uninsured and unlicensed drivers, immigration fears, impairment, and the scale of the street grid. The practical reality for victims is that most hit-and-run drivers are never identified, and recovery depends on the victim’s own insurance and on fast evidence gathering.

How LAPD investigates

LAPD’s four Traffic Divisions—Central, South, Valley and West—investigate hit-and-run collisions by geographic bureau. Felony hit-and-run (injury or death) is assigned to detectives; misdemeanor (property damage only) cases receive limited investigation. Clearance rates for felony hit-and-run have historically been low, under 20% in many years. The City of Los Angeles offers standing rewards for information leading to a hit-and-run conviction: up to $50,000 for a fatal collision, $25,000 for serious injury, $5,000 for other injury and $1,000 for property damage, under the Hit-and-Run Reward Program adopted in 2015. LAPD also issues hit-and-run alerts through its social media and the city’s alert system for serious cases.

What to do in the first 24 hours

1. Call 911 and report it immediately.

   Your uninsured motorist claim requires a police report within 24 hours. Get the LAPD report (DR) number.

2. Record everything you saw.

   Plate (even partial), make, model, color, damage, direction of travel, driver description, time.

3. Canvass for cameras the same day.

   Businesses, apartment buildings, gas stations, ATM cameras, Ring doorbells, Metro buses (which carry cameras), LADOT traffic cameras. Most footage is overwritten within 72 hours to two weeks. Ask owners to preserve it and note where it is.

4. Find witnesses.

   Rideshare drivers, bus passengers and nearby workers are common witnesses; get phone numbers.

5. Notify your insurer within 30 days.

   Standard policies require hit-and-run notice within 30 days for UM coverage.

6. Get medically evaluated.

   Hit-and-run victims are often pedestrians and cyclists with serious injuries; others feel the impact the next day.

Insurance for Los Angeles hit-and-run victims

An unidentified driver is treated as uninsured. If you have uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, your own insurer pays for your injuries as the at-fault driver’s insurer would have. California’s standard policy requires physical contact between vehicles (or with the pedestrian or cyclist) for a hit-and-run UM claim, so a “phantom driver” who ran you off the road without contact is covered only if an independent witness corroborates it. UM property damage ($3,500 maximum) requires the driver to be identified, so hit-and-run car damage is covered only by collision coverage. Pedestrians and cyclists are covered by their own or a household member’s auto UM coverage. See uninsured driver guide.

When the driver is found

Identification changes everything: the claim proceeds against the driver’s insurer if any, and the driver faces felony charges under Vehicle Code § 20001 (up to four years for injury). A conviction supports punitive damages in the civil case and the court can order restitution. If the driver is uninsured, the UM claim proceeds and you may also pursue the driver directly. Often the identified driver claims not to have known they hit anyone; that defense fails where the impact was obvious, and insurers rarely contest coverage on that basis once the vehicle is matched.

Where Los Angeles hit-and-runs cluster

Hit-and-run collisions follow the city’s High-Injury Network: South Los Angeles arterials (Western, Vermont, Figueroa, Florence, Manchester), the San Fernando Valley’s wide boulevards (Van Nuys, Sepulveda, Roscoe, Sherman Way), Hollywood and downtown nightlife areas late at night, and the Eastside (Whittier, Cesar Chavez, Soto). Pedestrian hit-and-runs peak between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. See Los Angeles pedestrian collisions.

Next step

If you were hurt in a Los Angeles hit-and-run, tell us about your accident. See also hit-and-run accidents and our Los Angeles car accident page.

Los Angeles questions

LAPD has not called me back about my hit-and-run. Is anyone investigating?

Property-damage hit-and-runs receive minimal investigation; injury cases are assigned to detectives but caseloads are heavy. Provide any camera footage or plate information you find directly to the assigned traffic division. Your insurance claim does not depend on the driver being found.

I was walking and do not own a car. Is there any coverage?

If you live with a relative who has auto insurance with UM coverage, you are likely covered as a resident relative. Otherwise, the California Victim Compensation Board can help with medical costs for victims of crimes including hit-and-run.

A driver cut me off and I crashed avoiding them, but they never touched my car. Is that a hit-and-run claim?

For UM purposes, California requires physical contact unless an independent witness corroborates the phantom vehicle. Find witnesses; without one, the claim is difficult.

Sources and official resources

• Vehicle Code § 20001 (hit-and-run involving injury or death)
• Vehicle Code § 20002 (hit-and-run involving property damage)
• Insurance Code § 11580.2 (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage)
• LAPD — request a traffic collision report
• Vision Zero Los Angeles (LADOT Livable Streets)
• Civil Code § 3294 (punitive damages)
• LAPD — traffic collision questions (hit-and-run reporting)

Links go to official government, court and public-health sources. Laws change; verify current text before relying on it.