Hit and Run Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ
A Phoenix hit and run case often surfaces after the crash itself is over: an officer asking about the dent in your bumper, a detective's card wedged in the front door, a letter from a court you have never heard of. You may have panicked and kept driving, pulled over somewhere down the road, or had nothing to do with it at all. Whatever happened, the next few days can shape the charge, the court and how long you keep your license.
We can help. Nova Law Group was built by a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. We prepare every case as if it is going to trial, and we take a meticulous, aggressive approach, fighting from every angle, because the report is only one side of the story.
Talk to us before you talk to anyone else. Call (480) 405-6767. Consultations are free and confidential, and the earlier we are involved, the more we can do.
Where Phoenix leaving the scene cases start
Phoenix Police takes many minor crime reports online, but its own list of incident types rules out crashes: hit and run accidents, and vehicle accidents of any type, are not reported online. The other driver, a witness or a property owner calls Crime Stop, the department's non-emergency line at (602) 262-6151, and an officer responds. So a Phoenix hit and run case usually starts with a police contact and a report, often built on a partial plate, a paint color or a bystander's phone video.
Serious crashes can move to the Vehicular Crimes Unit, which takes the city's serious collisions and all of its traffic deaths, while state troopers handle crashes on the interstates and freeways. When the driver in a fatal crash is unknown, Phoenix Police has issued media advisories asking for the public's help, with tips routed to Silent Witness, so a charge can come well after the crash.
The injury decides which prosecutor gets the case. The Vehicular Crimes Unit's page says an officer or detective can write a citation, send an investigative report to the prosecuting agency, or both. Misdemeanors belong to the Office of the Phoenix City Prosecutor, on the 8th floor of the Washington Street courthouse. Felonies belong to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, where the Vehicular Crimes Bureau prosecutes crimes involving motor vehicle collisions. The prosecutor, not the officer, picks the charge.
That split follows the statutes. Driving away after a crash that only damaged an attended vehicle, or after hitting a parked car without stopping and leaving your information, is a class 1 misdemeanor. Leaving after a crash that injured or killed someone is a felony, and so is failing to give reasonable assistance to an injured person. Medical records that arrive after the first report can turn a city misdemeanor into a County Attorney felony.
A felony arrest means booking and a hearing at Intake, Transfer and Release on 28th Drive, where Phoenix Police's April 2026 pamphlet shows felony calendars eight times a day. Rule 4.1 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure gives the court 24 hours from the arrest to hold it, and release terms are decided there.
Your car may become evidence. The Vehicular Crimes Unit says it impounds the evidence in its cases, that vehicles may be held in criminal cases, that access to a held vehicle needs the prosecuting agency's approval and sometimes a court order, and that property generally stays until the charges are resolved. Damage, paint transfer and vehicle data can help either side, so an independent inspection is worth requesting early.
There is a civil side too: a separate claim by the injured person or the other owner, and possible restitution in the criminal case. Phoenix Municipal Court's guidance on criminal complaints warns that in a case involving a traffic accident, a guilty plea could later be used in a civil suit as an admission of fault. How any plea bears on a later civil claim is a question for a lawyer before you enter one, and a no contest plea is still a conviction.
Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A leaving the scene conviction can bring an MVD revocation measured in years, and a felony conviction takes away the right to possess a firearm until that right is restored. Employers, insurers and licensing boards can see the record, and anyone who is not a U.S. citizen should get immigration advice before accepting any plea.
Hit and run allegations we defend in Phoenix
- A crash with an injury or a death. Under A.R.S. § 28-661 the driver must immediately stop at or as close as possible to the scene, return immediately, and stay until the information and assistance duties are met. The felony class depends on the injury and, after a death or serious injury, on whether the driver caused the crash.
- Failing to help someone who was hurt. Not giving reasonable assistance, such as arranging transport for treatment that appears necessary, is a class 6 felony under A.R.S. § 28-663.
- Not sharing your information. Failing to give your name, address and registration, or to show your license on request, is a class 1 misdemeanor.
- Damage to an attended vehicle. Leaving after a damage-only crash is a class 1 misdemeanor under A.R.S. § 28-662, and the court may add a one-year suspension.
- A parked car in a lot or on the street. A.R.S. § 28-664 requires stopping and either notifying the owner or operator or leaving a written note in a conspicuous place.
- An impairment allegation from the same crash, which needs its own defense.
- A felony DUI alongside the leaving count.
- A death on a Phoenix road, where negligent homicide or manslaughter can be charged too.
- Driving before the crash, if speeding or racing is alleged.
- License suspensions and impounds.
Classes, prison ranges and revocation rules are on the statewide hit and run page.
From the collision report to a decision on charges
The report. A patrol officer takes the first account, usually from the other driver and anyone who stopped. Who was driving is often the weakest link: a plate read by a stranger at night, a description that fits thousands of cars, or a vehicle registered to one person and driven by another.
The video. Gas stations, apartment gates, store lots and doorbells all record, and private systems can overwrite footage fast. Video can show who was behind the wheel, whether the driver stopped nearby and came back, or whether anyone could have known a collision happened. We ask for it in the first days.
The knock on the door. Officers often trace the car through its registration and then ask the owner who had it that day. You can decline to talk on the doorstep; saying a lawyer will call is not a confession of anything. Do not contact the other driver, a witness or the property owner about the case, and do not post about it.
The charging decision. The report goes to the City Prosecutor for a misdemeanor or the County Attorney for a felony. The County Attorney's guide lists the options a reviewing prosecutor has: ask police for more work, decline to charge, refer the matter to another agency, or charge it. Until that decision, a lawyer can sometimes put facts in front of the prosecutor that the report leaves out, such as a call placed to police after the driver left or a note left on a windshield.
The misdemeanor track. At Phoenix Municipal Court, the arraignment falls on the appearance date printed on a citation, or on the date in a summons the court mailed, and the court's own page says a request to dismiss will not be granted there. Plead not guilty and a pretrial disposition conference comes next: you or your lawyer meet the prosecutor, review the reports and evidence, and may hear a plea offer.
The felony track. A felony reaches Superior Court by direct complaint and preliminary hearing or by grand jury indictment. Hearings take place downtown, in either South Court Tower or Central Court Building, so confirm the building on your current notice. A Maricopa County felony makes no stop in a justice court along the way. A sentence for leaving an injury or fatal crash must run consecutively to sentences on other charges from the same crash.
The defense questions. Was the client driving at all? Did the driver stop as close to the scene as the road allowed and come back? Do the medical records meet the statutory definition of serious physical injury? After a death or serious injury, did the driver cause the crash, the fact that separates a class 3 felony from a class 2?
Phoenix roads and lots where these reports begin
A Phoenix hit and run report can begin in a grocery store lot in Maryvale, on a parking garage ramp downtown, beside a light rail crossing on Washington Street or Central Avenue, or at a busy arterial intersection such as 19th Avenue and Indian School Road. The duties after a crash apply on private property, so a scrape in a shopping center lot can lead to the same misdemeanor as one on a city street.
Location decides which agency builds the case. City streets belong to Phoenix Police, organized into seven patrol precincts. A collision on a freeway such as I-10 or Loop 101 goes to state troopers, and a damage-only trooper case generally goes to the justice court named on the citation rather than the municipal courthouse. Cross the Glendale, Tempe or Scottsdale line and that city's police write the report, though a felony generally still goes to the County Attorney.
A former prosecutor and a flat fee
Nova Law Group was built by Ryan Tait, a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. The practice is criminal defense first. We keep caseloads deliberately low, which means the lawyers on your case have time to actually watch the video and read the reports line by line. We take hit and run cases to trial when trial is the right pressure. Overcharging happens, and a case that is genuinely prepared for trial changes the conversation with the prosecutor. Most criminal cases are quoted as a flat fee. Consultations are free and confidential.
Office: 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Meetings are by appointment.
Phoenix courts and addresses
Courts and facilities: Phoenix Municipal Court and Office of the Phoenix City Prosecutor (8th Floor), 300 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003. Maricopa County Intake, Transfer and Release (Initial Appearance Court), 2670 S. 28th Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Justice courts at 620 W. Jackson St., Phoenix, AZ 85003, and 18380 N. 40th St., Phoenix, AZ 85032. Maricopa County Superior Court, downtown criminal complex: Central Court Building, 201 W. Jefferson St., and South Court Tower, 175 W. Madison St., Phoenix, AZ 85003.
Phoenix hit and run questions
Not before you speak with a lawyer. Giving police a statement is your choice, and calling back without advice can turn a weak identification into a confession of who was driving. We can contact the officer or detective, learn what the report alleges, and decide with you whether saying anything helps. In the meantime, do not repair, sell or clean the car, and do not reach out to the other driver or any witness about what happened.
That turns on the injury and the agency. A damage-only case from a Phoenix Police report generally stays at Phoenix Municipal Court on Washington Street, with the City Prosecutor bringing it. A trooper's damage-only case from a freeway usually goes to a justice court. If anyone was hurt or killed, the charge is a felony for the County Attorney, heard downtown in Superior Court. Your citation or summons names the court.
It can be. Under A.R.S. § 28-664, a driver who hits an unattended vehicle must stop and give the names and addresses of the driver and of the striking vehicle's owner, either by locating and notifying the owner or operator or by leaving a written note in a conspicuous place in the struck vehicle. Failing to do that is a class 1 misdemeanor. The court decides any sentence, and whether jail is likely often depends on the facts and your record.
Neither, before you have talked to a lawyer. Phoenix Municipal Court's own guidance explains that a guilty plea to a charge involving a traffic accident could later be used in a civil suit as an admission of fault. How a no contest plea would affect a claim by the other driver is a legal question to settle first. Both pleas still result in a conviction, with license and record consequences. A not guilty plea at arraignment keeps your options open while the evidence is reviewed.
Often, yes. A conviction under A.R.S. § 28-661 brings a revocation of three years for an injury that is not serious, five years for a serious physical injury and ten years for a death, and time spent in custody does not count toward the five or ten year period. After a damage-only conviction under § 28-662, the court may order a one-year suspension. Getting your license back afterward is handled through MVD.
In a criminal case, the Vehicular Crimes Unit says a held vehicle can be accessed only with the prosecuting agency's authorization, sometimes with a court order, and that property generally stays in custody until the charges are resolved. A lawyer can ask the prosecutor about an inspection, about releasing personal items, and about whether the car still needs to be held. Keep every notice you receive.
Get advice before the officer calls back
Call (480) 405-6767. If someone is in custody after a Phoenix crash, or police want to talk about your car, phone us instead of using the form.
Nova Law Group, PLLC, 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., by appointment.
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Talk to a Maricopa County criminal defense lawyer
If you have been arrested, charged, or contacted by a detective, the decisions you make in the first few days matter. Nova Law Group defends misdemeanor and felony cases in the Superior Court and in municipal and justice courts across Maricopa County.
Free, confidential consultation: (480) 405-6767
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