Skip to content If the driver who hit you drove off, you are probably wondering whether you have any claim at all. Usually you do and it generally does not depend on police ever finding them. Arizona treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist, which redirects the claim rather than ending it. Harris Injury Law represents hit-and-run victims in Chandler and across the Phoenix metro and East Valley.
Usually yes, through uninsured motorist coverage. Under A.R.S. § 20-259.01, Arizona insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and an unidentified hit-and-run driver is treated as the operator of an uninsured vehicle. Your claim shifts to your own policy rather than disappearing.
UM coverage is optional to buy, though it must be offered. Check your declarations page it is the single most important document in a hit-and-run claim. If the driver is later identified but carries minimum limits or nothing, the claim typically still runs through uninsured motorist coverage.
Report it immediately, then recover footage before it overwrites.
Call 911 from the scene. Do not leave first. Chandler PD’s non-emergency line is 480-782-4130 if no one is injured.
Write down everything about the vehicle now color, body style, damage location, direction of travel, any partial plate. This fades within the hour.
Photograph transferred paint, debris, and your vehicle before any repair. Physical transfer can identify a make and model later.
Canvass for cameras yourself. Retail parking lots along Chandler Boulevard and Arizona Avenue, arterial intersections, and nearby business and doorbell cameras are the most common way a fleeing driver gets identified. Note exact addresses most private systems overwrite within days.
Get witness numbers directly. Do not rely on the officer to capture them.
Notify your own insurer the same day, and get evaluated medically the same day even if you feel fine.
Chandler PD accepts online reports for incidents not in progress and handles accident report requests through its Records Unit at 480-782-4001, though a report can take roughly two weeks to appear.
That police report is not optional in a hit-and-run. Many UM policies condition coverage on prompt reporting to law enforcement commonly within 24 hours and a delay can create a coverage problem entirely separate from anything the fleeing driver did.
Your UM coverage pays, and a not-at-fault claim should not be coded as an at-fault loss. Rate practices vary by carrier and depend on your policy, so it turns on the insurer but you were not the party at fault, and that distinction matters.
A UM claim is adversarial regardless. Your insurer steps into the position of the driver who fled and may raise the same defenses that driver could have: that the phantom vehicle did not exist, that you were speeding, that your injuries predate the crash. The recorded statement it requests early is taken with that in mind.
According to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Chandler saw over 4,200 total crashes in 2024, with more than 1,200 resulting in injuries and 14 fatal collisions across the city. While not all of these were classified as hit-and-run incidents, Maricopa County, which includes Chandler, consistently reports the highest concentration of motor vehicle collisions in Arizona.
Statewide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that hit and run accidents make up a significant portion of crashes each year, leaving many injured victims struggling with medical expenses and insurance policy complications. These figures highlight the serious risks Arizona drivers face when negligent motorists flee the scene.
You may still have a claim. Arizona does not enforce a physical-contact requirement.
This is where a great deal of published advice gets Arizona law wrong. Some policies contain language requiring physical contact between the fleeing vehicle and yours. The Arizona Supreme Court held in Lowing v. Allstate Insurance Company that an unidentified accident-causing motorist falls within the uninsured motorist statute, and that policy language restricting coverage to unidentified drivers who actually struck the insured conflicts with § 20-259.01 and is void.
What the statute requires instead is proof. A.R.S. § 20-259.01(M) provides that where a bodily injury or death claim involves an unidentified vehicle and no physical contact occurred, the insured must provide corroboration that the unidentified vehicle caused the accident defined in the statute as additional, confirming testimony, fact, or evidence adding weight or credibility to the insured’s account.
So a driver forced off the Loop 202 or into a curb on Ray Road by a car that never made contact has a claim, provided a witness, camera footage, or physical evidence supports it. An adjuster saying no contact means no coverage is not the end of the analysis.
When anyone is injured, yes. A.R.S. § 28-661 requires a driver involved in a collision causing injury or death to stop, or return immediately, and remain until the duties in A.R.S. § 28-663 are met.
Circumstances | Classification |
Injury other than death or serious physical injury | Class 5 felony |
Death or serious physical injury, driver did not cause the crash | Class 3 felony |
Death or serious physical injury, driver caused the crash | Class 2 felony |
Vehicle damage only A.R.S. § 28-662 | Class 1 misdemeanor |
A.R.S. § 28-663 separately requires the driver to give name, address, and registration, show a license on request, and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured. Failing to render aid is a Class 6 felony. A sentence under § 28-661 runs consecutively to other sentences from the same collision, and conviction carries license revocation.
A criminal prosecution is not your civil claim. It may produce restitution, but restitution is generally limited to economic loss and does not address pain and suffering. Separately, Arizona permits punitive damages only on a demanding standard involving conscious disregard for a substantial risk of harm, and leaving an injured person at the roadside is conduct a jury may view very differently from the underlying driving error. Whether punitive damages are available depends on the facts and on the evidence developed. Note also that they are typically unavailable in a UM claim against your own carrier, since your insurer did not flee the analysis changes where the driver is identified and pursued directly.
Generally two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, running from the date of injury or, in a wrongful death action, the date of death. Claims for injured minors are generally tolled until age eighteen under A.R.S. § 12-502.
A UM claim is different, because it is contractual as well as statutory. Your policy may impose notice and proof deadlines far shorter than two years, and missing one can end the claim while the statutory period is still open. That is the most common way a viable hit-and-run recovery is lost. See the statute of limitations in Arizona.
Fault can still be contested even against a driver nobody can name. Arizona applies pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. § 12-2505, so an award is reduced by your assigned share with no cutoff a routine argument in pedestrian hit-and-runs. See Arizona comparative negligence laws.
Jason A. Harris has practiced personal injury and workers’ compensation law in Arizona since 2006 and has represented thousands of injury clients. Clients speak with him directly rather than being routed to a case manager, and the firm is reachable outside standard business hours which matters when footage and witness memory are gone in days.
Cases are handled on a contingency fee: no retainer, no hourly billing, and no attorney fee unless compensation is recovered. Case costs are advanced and reimbursed from any settlement, and the fee agreement sets that out in writing before you sign. Consultations are free. See what a personal injury lawyer costs in Arizona.
Related practice areas include Chandler car accident, distracted driving, DUI, and rear-end collision claims, alongside our broader Chandler personal injury practice.
Usually yes. Arizona treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist, so the claim shifts to your own uninsured motorist coverage rather than ending. Insurers must offer UM and UIM coverage under A.R.S. § 20-259.01, though buying it is optional. Check your declarations page to confirm you carry it.
Your uninsured motorist coverage is the usual source of recovery. Rate practices vary by carrier and depend on your policy, but you were not the at-fault party, and that distinction matters to how the loss is coded. Be aware that a UM claim is still adversarial. Your insurer may raise the same defenses the fleeing driver could have.
Many uninsured motorist policies condition coverage on prompt reporting to law enforcement, commonly within 24 hours. It is a policy term rather than a statute, so the exact requirement depends on your policy. Reporting immediately is the safest course because a delay can create a coverage problem separate from the crash itself.
You may still recover. Arizona does not enforce a physical-contact requirement, and policy language limiting coverage to unidentified drivers who actually struck the insured has been held void as conflicting with the uninsured motorist statute. What A.R.S. § 20-259.01(M) requires instead is corroboration that the unidentified vehicle caused the crash, such as an independent witness, camera footage, or physical evidence at the scene.
When someone is injured, yes. Under A.R.S. § 28-661, leaving the scene of a crash causing injury other than death or serious physical injury is a Class 5 felony. Where death or serious physical injury results, it is a Class 3 felony, rising to a Class 2 felony if the fleeing driver caused the crash. Failing to render aid under A.R.S. § 28-663 is a separate Class 6 felony. A property-damage-only hit and run under A.R.S. § 28-662 is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Generally, you have two years from the date of injury under A.R.S. § 12-542. However, an uninsured motorist claim is also contractual, and your policy may impose notice deadlines far shorter than two years. Missing a policy deadline can end the claim while the statutory period is still open.
The evidence that identifies a fleeing driver and the corroboration that supports a no-contact claim both disappear on their own schedule, usually within days.
Harris Injury Law, PLLC 1136 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85014 (480) 800-4878
Serving Chandler, the East Valley, and the Phoenix metro. Request a free consultation or meet our attorneys. Every case is different and depends on its own facts; no outcome can be promised or predicted.
This page provides general information about Arizona law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Arizona law and policy terms change, and coverage depends on the specific facts and policy involved. Consult a licensed Arizona attorney about your situation.
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“After the accident I didn’t know what to do, my car was damaged, I had medical bills piling up, and the driver fled the scene. Jason and the team at Harris Injury Law stepped in, handled everything, kept me informed, and I felt like I had strong legal counsel behind me.”
- M.L., Chandler, AZ
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“I was rear ended by someone who left the scene. The parking lot incident left me with significant injuries and lost wages. Harris Injury Law made sure we got proper medical treatment, dealt with my insurance company and the run-accident claim. I highly recommend them.”
- T.R., Chandler, AZ
These testimonials reflect the experiences of clients we’ve represented in hit and run cases.
Located at 1136 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Harris Injury Law, PLLC specializes in auto and truck accidents and workers’ compensation. Speak directly with your lawyer from the beginning. Same-day and emergency consultations are available. You never pay out of pocket. Call us at any time – 24/7.
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