Quick answer: A Maryland hit-and-run runs from a misdemeanor to a serious felony depending on what the accident caused. Leaving a property-damage-only crash (Transp. § 20-103) is a misdemeanor — up to 60 days and a $500 fine. Leaving a crash that hurt someone (§ 20-102) is also a misdemeanor if the injury is not “serious,” carrying up to 1 year and $3,000. It becomes a felony only when the accident caused serious bodily injury (up to 5 years, $5,000) or death (up to 10 years, $10,000).
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve defended thousands of Maryland traffic cases, including leaving-the-scene charges at every tier. Below I lay out exactly where the misdemeanor line stops and the felony line begins — the distinction that decides how much is on the table.
Maryland Hit-and-Run Penalties: The Four Tiers at a Glance
Maryland does not have one hit-and-run penalty; it has four, set by what the accident caused. The two lighter tiers are misdemeanors; the two heavier tiers are felonies handled in Circuit Court.
| What the accident caused | Statute | Crime | Maximum jail | Maximum fine | MVA points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property damage only (attended vehicle or property) | § 20-103 | Misdemeanor | 60 days (2 months) | $500 | 8 |
| Bodily injury (not “serious”) | § 20-102 | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $3,000 | 12 |
| Serious bodily injury | § 20-102 | Felony | 5 years | $5,000 | 12 |
| Death | § 20-102 | Felony | 10 years | $10,000 | 12 |
The point figures come from Maryland’s administrative point schedule, not the criminal statutes, and they run on a separate track from the court case. Eight points triggers a notice of suspension; twelve triggers revocation. So even the lightest tier can cost you your license entirely apart from any fine or jail — see Maryland’s point system and suspension vs. revocation vs. cancellation for how those thresholds bite.
What Actually Counts as a Hit-and-Run in Maryland?
“Hit and run” is shorthand for failing to stop and remain at an accident scene. The duty is the same across the tiers: if you are involved in a crash, you must immediately stop, return to and stay at the scene, and — under Md. Code, Transp. § 20-104 — give your name, address, and registration and render reasonable aid. Section 20-104 also requires you to notify police when no one is present to take your information, and § 20-105 tells you to leave a written note when you clip an unattended car or mailbox.
The crime is the leaving, not the crash — the part clients most often get wrong.
Fault in the crash is not the point. You can be completely blameless for the collision — someone rear-ends you, or backs into your parked car — and still be convicted of hit-and-run if you drive off without exchanging information. The duties in § 20-102 and § 20-103 attach to being involved in an accident, not to causing it. Leaving is the offense, and it stands on its own.
Property Damage: Why § 20-103 Stays a Misdemeanor
When the only thing hurt is property — another car, a fence, a guardrail — you are in the least severe tier. Section 20-103 makes leaving that scene a misdemeanor and caps it precisely.
“A person convicted of a violation of this section is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 2 months or a fine not exceeding $500 or both.” — Md. Code, Transp. § 20-103
That $500 is the maximum a judge can impose on conviction, not a preset ticket you can pay off — leaving the scene is a must-appear charge, so you get a court date, not a payment coupon. A conviction here still puts 8 points on your record and can support a civil claim by the other driver, so the real exposure at this tier is usually the license, not the jail cell.
Bodily Injury: Still a Misdemeanor, but the Stakes Jump
Here is the distinction that trips people up most. Leaving a crash that caused bodily injury — where the injury does not meet the statute’s “serious” definition — is still a misdemeanor under § 20-102. It is far more serious than property damage, with up to 1 year in jail, a $3,000 fine, and 12 points, but it is not a felony. Panic makes clients assume any injury makes it a felony; it does not.
What changes at this tier is the duty to help: § 20-102 expects a driver to stop, remain, and render reasonable assistance, including arranging medical transport where needed. The 12 points alone open revocation proceedings, so the license stakes are already maxed out even before the felony line.
When Does a Maryland Hit-and-Run Become a Felony?
Only two things push leaving the scene into felony territory: serious bodily injury and death. Section 20-102 sets steep felony penalties — up to 5 years and $5,000 for serious injury, and up to 10 years and $10,000 for a death — and both require that the driver knew, or reasonably should have known, the accident might cause that level of harm.
“Serious bodily injury” is a defined term, not a judgment call. Under § 20-102 it means an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or causes serious permanent or protracted disfigurement, or a serious permanent or protracted loss or impairment of a body part, organ, or mental faculty. A broken bone that heals may not qualify; a lost limb, a lasting brain injury, or organ damage typically will. Because that line separates a misdemeanor from a felony, it is often the most contested issue in the case, and it turns on medical proof, not the officer’s first impression. A death-tier case can also draw charges such as vehicular manslaughter.
“I Didn’t Know I Hit Anything” — the Knowledge Defense
Every accident-scene duty is triggered by the driver’s awareness that an accident happened. If you genuinely did not know you made contact — a light bump in a crowded lot, backing over something you never saw — you may have a real defense that you were never on notice to stop. That defense is strongest at the property-damage tier and weakens fast as the harm grows; it is hard to convince a court you did not notice a collision serious enough to injure someone. At the felony tiers, the question becomes whether you knew or reasonably should have known the crash might cause serious injury or death.
A second defense matters in a surprising number of cases: identity. To convict, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were driving, and owning the car is not proof of who was behind the wheel. In most hit-and-runs the other party never got a clear look at the driver. Police try to close that gap by getting the registered owner to admit driving, sometimes by hinting that video exists. Say nothing without a lawyer; that admission is often the only thing that makes the case provable. For how these cases unfold after charging, see what happens after a hit-and-run charge in Maryland, and the firm’s hit-and-run defenses guide.
The Tier Decides Everything — Talk to a Lawyer First
A Maryland leaving-the-scene charge can be a $500 misdemeanor or a 10-year felony, and the difference usually comes down to how badly someone was hurt and whether the State can prove you were driving. Both are fights worth having before you say a word to police. If you are charged, or officers want to question you, get the full picture from the Maryland hit-and-run lawyer overview and call before you make a statement. Hit-and-run also sits inside the firm’s broader insurance and hit-and-run knowledge hub, and if impaired driving is in the mix, the split with DUI vs. DWI in Maryland matters too.
Not always. Leaving the scene of a property-damage-only crash or a crash with non-serious bodily injury is a misdemeanor. It is a felony only when the accident caused serious bodily injury (up to 5 years) or death (up to 10 years).
Under Transportation section 20-103 it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 2 months in jail and a fine up to $500, plus 8 points on your driving record. Eight points can trigger a license suspension on its own.
Yes. The crime is leaving the scene, not causing the crash. If you are involved in an accident and drive off without stopping and exchanging information, you can be convicted even if the other driver caused the collision.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: September 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. § 20-102, § 20-103, § 20-104, and § 20-105. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.