Even the most minor of car accidents can ruin your day. However, if the other person involved in the accident decides to drive off afterward rather than stay at the scene, everything gets even more complicated.
Fortunately, dealing with hit-and-run accidents and dealing with conventional accidents have much in common with each other. As per State Farm Insurance, make sure that you stay at the scene of the accident and contact the police. You should also make an effort to talk with any eyewitnesses. If possible, get contact information in case you need to reach them at a later time.
Stay, do not go
Your first reaction to watching the other person drive out of sight may be anger. While this is a natural response, make sure that you keep a cool head. Driving off after the culprit may result in unfavorable eyewitness accounts. After all, if two cars get into an accident and both of them drive off, how are the eyewitnesses supposed to know what happened?
Instead, keep your cool and stay on the scene. If there is anybody who has sustained an injury as a result of the crash, call 911. Otherwise, you can call the police non-emergency hotline to file a police report, the same way you would in a normal accident.
Seek eyewitnesses
Eyewitnesses are even more important in hit-and-run accidents than they are in conventional ones. It is possible that an eyewitness realized what was going on and was able to capture video or photo images of the culprit driving away. If this is the case, it will make it much easier for the police to track the culprit down.