Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Property Damage Only (Md. Transp. § 20-103)
You tapped a parked car in a Bowie shopping center. You backed into a mailbox and drove off. You hit a guardrail on the Beltway and kept going. Two days later, a Maryland State Trooper or a PG County officer is at your door with a citation under Md. Transp. § 20-103.
This is a "hit-and-run, property damage only" charge. It is a misdemeanor. The exposure is real but contained, and most cases can be resolved without a conviction if a defense lawyer gets involved at the citation stage.
What the statute requires
Section 20-103 of the Maryland Transportation Article requires a driver of any vehicle involved in an accident that results only in damage to an attended vehicle or other attended property to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene or as close to the scene as possible. The driver must then comply with § 20-104, which requires giving name, address, vehicle registration, and license information, and rendering reasonable assistance.
If the property damaged is unattended (an empty parked car, a fence, a mailbox), § 20-105 requires the driver to make a reasonable effort to find the owner and leave the required information, or to attach a written notice in a conspicuous place on the property.
A driver who fails to stop, fails to identify, or fails to comply with the notice requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The penalties
A first offense under § 20-103 in Maryland is a misdemeanor. The maximum penalties are:
- Imprisonment up to 60 days
- A fine up to $500
- 8 points on your MVA record (which triggers a license suspension)
The 8-point assessment is the part most defendants do not see coming. Eight points is enough on its own to put your license at risk. See the MVA hearings and Maryland license suspension lawyer pages for the suspension framework.
If the property damage involved an attended vehicle and the driver fled instead of stopping, the State sometimes charges § 20-102 instead. See our leaving the scene with injury page for that variant.
How the State proves it
The State has to prove four elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The defendant was the driver of a vehicle.
- The vehicle was involved in an accident that caused property damage.
- The defendant knew or should have known the accident occurred.
- The defendant failed to stop, identify, and comply with § 20-104.
Element three, knowledge, is the State's biggest hurdle. In most property-damage cases, the State has to prove the defendant knew or should have known the collision occurred. A minor tap in a parking lot, an impact the driver did not feel, or a vehicle the driver thought was unoccupied all open the knowledge defense.
Defenses that work
- No knowledge of the accident. This is the most common defense in low-impact parking-lot cases. If you did not feel the impact, did not hear it, and did not see the damage when you walked back to the car, the State cannot prove the knowledge element. Surveillance video, vehicle data recorder data, and crash reconstruction can support the defense.
- No accident as defined. Cosmetic contact that did not result in damage may not satisfy the "accident" element. The damage has to be real.
- Compliance with notice requirements. If you left a note on the unattended vehicle, or made a reasonable effort to find the owner, § 20-105 was satisfied. The State has to prove you did not.
- Driver identification. Most leaving-scene cases are built on a witness's description of the fleeing vehicle and a registration trace. The owner of the vehicle is not always the driver. A defense based on "I wasn't driving" requires evidence about who was, but it is a winning defense when the State has only the tag.
- Constitutional issues with the post-fact interview. Officers who knock on the door days later sometimes get statements without proper warnings. A custodial interrogation in the doorway is not always handled correctly.
Probation before judgment (PBJ)
In a § 20-103 case with no aggravating facts, a defense lawyer's first goal is probation before judgment. PBJ avoids a conviction, keeps the 8 points off the MVA record, and removes the offense from the insurance abstract. The State and the court will weigh:
- The defendant's driving record
- The amount of damage
- Whether the defendant cooperated once contacted
- Whether restitution has been paid
- Whether the defendant has any prior § 20-103 or related convictions
Paying restitution before the court date is the single most effective thing a defendant can do to set up a PBJ. We see this every week in Hyattsville District Court.
Prince George's County practice notes
PG County hears most leaving-scene-of-accident cases in District Court at Hyattsville. The PG County PD typically refers the case to the State's Attorney's Office, who issues a criminal summons. A defense lawyer at the trial date with a restitution payment in hand and a clean prior record is the standard PBJ path.
For the local context, see Prince George's County and the Maryland traffic citation lawyer page.
Related charges
- Leaving the scene with injury (Md. Transp. § 20-102)
- Failure to control speed to avoid collision (Md. Transp. § 21-801)
- Negligent driving
- Maryland DUI if alcohol was involved
Don't post about the crash on social media
Two practical points that come up in every case:
- Do not talk to the investigating officer without a lawyer in the room. The officer's report and your statement are the case.
- Do not post on social media about the accident. Posts get screenshotted, subpoenaed, and used at trial.
Contact us for a free consultation. We handle Md. Transp. § 20-103 cases in Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and across Maryland. Contact FrizWoods.