What the driver faces
Fleeing an injury crash is chargeable up to felony level; property-damage flight is a misdemeanor. That's the People's business. Yours is what the prosecution produces along the way — and it produces plenty.
What their case hands yours
- Identification and evidence — investigators, subpoenas, and footage you couldn't reach alone.
- A conviction or plea — powerful proof of the crash and the flight; juries read flight as consciousness of fault.
- Restitution — court-ordered repayment of documented out-of-pocket losses. Take it, and know its ceiling: no pain and suffering, no future care, no full wage loss. The civil claim covers what restitution structurally can't.
“The charges got dropped — is my case dead?”
No. Criminal cases need proof beyond a reasonable doubt; your claim needs “more likely than not.” Dismissals, diversion, and civil compromises end prosecutions, not claims — and evidence gathered before dismissal usually survives into yours. If the driver was never found at all, the road home is your own UM coverage on the 48-hour playbook's timeline.
Running both tracks
Cooperate as the victim-witness, assert restitution, and keep your civil clock running independently — the statute of limitations doesn't pause for a criminal docket. Victims' rights include notice and a sentencing statement; coordinate what you say with your civil counsel, because everything's on the record.
