Hit and run accidents are an unpleasant reality. But chances are you or someone you know may be involved in one of these accidents at some point. There are a few things that you should know and a few things that you do if this ever happens to you. As with any unpleasant reality, knowing what to do will make a difficult situation easier to manage.

First and foremost, deal with any injuries. A good portion of hit and runs do involve injuries and/or fatalities. Deal with that first. Of course, contacting any emergency personnel should include law enforcement. They should be contacted as soon as the accident happens and you realize that it is, in fact, a hit and run.

A hit and run accident is a crime. It occurs when there’s an automobile accident and one of the people involved leaves the scene of the accident without first giving the other party the information they’re required by law to provide. That information usually includes the driver’s name, a current address and phone number, their driver’s license number, insurance information and the vehicle license number.

While there may be some variation from state to state, a hit and run can be either a misdemeanor or a felony. If there are no injuries involved, then the accident may be considered a misdemeanor. If there are injuries involved, however, the situation becomes more serious and fleeing the scene of the accident is usually a felony. Now, the sad part is that if you are hit as part of a hit and run, there may be little recourse in recouping the cost of your damages.

There are a few things that you can do in order to help you in your claim and to help the police who are investigating the accident. Begin by remembering that you aren’t just a claimant in an accident, you’re a witness to a crime. Make no mistake, hit and run is a crime and it will be investigated.

Try to remember as much about the person who hit you as you can. Car make, model and color are a good place to start. But there’s another level – you have to be able to identify the person behind the wheel. This might happen at another location, especially if the police are able to catch the person who hit you. Remember, no one can out run a radio.

Sometimes you might be asked to ID someone by photographs. This is just as good a way as a face to face ID. Work with the police however you can and they’ll do their best to try to bring all of this to a successful conclusion.

Remembering the license number is good, but that may be too much to ask of you in the situation. See if there were any other identifying factors about the car. Which part of the other car was damaged is another helpful piece of information, as other officers will be able to look for a car with fresh damage like the one you describe. Any information you can provide about the situation will be helpful in resolving this unfortunate situation.