News · Criminal law
Hit and run: failing to stop and assist after a crash, and what the law demands.
A hit-and-run in Sydney's north-west, where a pedestrian was left in a critical condition and a driver was later charged, has put these offences back in the news. The phrase "hit and run" makes it sound like one crime. It is not. It is a ladder of offences that runs from a fine for not giving your details, through an 18-month prison offence where someone is hurt, up to a 10-year offence where someone dies. The part that surprises people most is that you can be guilty of failing to stop even where the crash was not your fault. This is how the duty and the offences work in NSW and the ACT: what you must do, what each charge carries, and where a defence still lives.
By Aaron Kernaghan · Published 24 August 2026
The news, and the point of law it raises.
Police say a pedestrian was struck at Carlingford and left with critical injuries, and that a driver was arrested and charged after the vehicle left the scene. No one has been convicted, and any person charged is presumed innocent. This note is not about that matter. It is about the question the report puts in a lot of minds: what does the law actually require a driver to do after a crash, and how bad does it get if they drive off? In NSW and the ACT, the answer is a series of separate offences that rise with the harm the crash caused.
What must you do after a crash in NSW?
The starting duty is in rule 287 of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW). A driver involved in a crash must stop and give their required particulars, meaning their name and address and the registration number of the vehicle, to any other driver involved, to anyone who is injured, and to the owner of any property that was damaged. The details have to be given as soon as possible, and in any case within 24 hours of the crash.
Two things lift the duty higher. If anyone is killed or injured, or if a police officer asks, you must also give those particulars to police. And where a person is hurt, the law does not stop at swapping details. You must stop and give any assistance that is necessary and that it is within your power to give. Driving off breaches all of this at once, which is why a single decision to leave can attract more than one charge.
What happens if you leave the scene?
There is no single "hit and run" section. The charge is chosen by what the crash caused. At the lowest rung, failing to give your particulars after a crash that caused only property damage is a regulatory offence dealt with by fine. Above that sit two real criminal offences: one where the impact caused injury, and one where it caused death or grievous bodily harm. The gap between them is large, so the difference between a bruise and a broken bone can change the maximum penalty by years.
The reason the law treats leaving so seriously is the person left behind. A driver who stops can call an ambulance, keep the injured person still, and give police an accurate account. A driver who leaves takes all of that away, at the worst possible moment for the person on the road.
Failing to stop and assist after an impact causing injury.
Where the crash caused injury, the offence is section 146 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW). A driver whose vehicle is involved in an impact causing injury to another person must stop and give any assistance that is necessary and within their power. Failing to do so carries a maximum of 18 months in prison for a first offence, rising to 2 years where it is a second or later major traffic offence within five years. It also brings an automatic licence disqualification, which the court can reduce to a minimum period but cannot remove.
This charge often runs alongside others. A driver who caused the injury may also face dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm or negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and the failure to stop is charged on top of the driving offence, not instead of it.
Failing to stop after a crash causing death or grievous bodily harm.
This is the serious end. Section 52AB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) makes it an offence to fail to stop and give assistance after a vehicle impact causing death or grievous bodily harm. Under section 52AB(1), failing to stop after an impact causing death carries a maximum of 10 years. Under section 52AB(2), where the impact caused grievous bodily harm, the maximum is 7 years.
The point that catches people out is this. Section 52AB punishes the leaving, not the crash. A driver can be convicted of failing to stop even if they were not to blame for the collision at all. If a pedestrian steps out and is struck through no fault of the driver, the driver who then leaves without stopping can still be guilty under section 52AB, while a driver who stops and helps commits no offence at all on these facts. The charge for causing the death, such as dangerous driving occasioning death under section 52A, is a separate question that turns on how the person was driving.
What does the prosecution have to prove?
For the section 52AB offence, the prosecution must prove three things beyond reasonable doubt. First, that the vehicle the accused was driving was involved in an impact that caused the death of, or grievous bodily harm to, another person. Second, that the accused knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the vehicle had been involved in that impact. Third, that the accused failed to stop and give the assistance that was necessary and within their power to give.
The second element is the battleground. It is not limited to what the driver actually knew. It reaches what a reasonable driver in the same position ought to have known. So the prosecution does not have to show the accused turned around and saw the injured person. It is enough to show that, given the force of the impact and the surrounding facts, a reasonable driver would have realised the vehicle had struck a person.
What if you did not know you hit someone?
Because the offence turns on knowledge, a genuine and reasonable lack of it can be a defence. If the impact was slight and truly imperceptible, and a reasonable driver would not have realised anything had happened, the knowledge element is not made out. This is a real issue in low-speed contact, a clipped mirror, or a strike a driver could plausibly have taken for a pothole or a kerb.
It is decided on evidence, not assertion. Dashcam and CCTV, the point and force of the impact, damage to the vehicle, road and light conditions, and independent witnesses all bear on whether the driver knew or should have known. There are also cases where a driver did not stop because it was not within their power to help, for example because they were themselves seriously injured or in genuine danger. Which defence fits, if any, comes from reading the brief closely and testing the prosecution's account of what the driver must have known.
How does this work in the ACT?
The ACT has its own version. Section 16 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT) says that where a driver is involved in a traffic accident on a road or road-related area and someone is killed or injured, the driver must not knowingly fail to stop and give any assistance that is necessary and within their power to give. The maximum penalty is 200 penalty units and imprisonment for 2 years.
As in NSW, that failure-to-stop charge sits on top of any charge for the driving itself. Where a death is caused by driving, the ACT charge may be culpable driving causing death under section 29 of the Crimes Act 1900 (ACT), and the failure to stop is a separate count. An ACT driver also has the same duty to stop and exchange particulars after any crash, so leaving the scene can bring both a traffic penalty and a criminal charge.
What the courts do with these cases.
Where a death or serious injury is involved, a full-time custodial sentence is the ordinary outcome, because the courts treat leaving an injured person on the road as a grave failure. It is not automatic. Youth, a timely guilty plea, mental health or cognitive issues, a driver who returned or handed themselves in, and genuine remorse all matter. A plea entered early can be worth up to a 25 per cent reduction, as set out in our note on the early guilty plea discount in NSW, and in the right case a sentence can be served in the community as an intensive correction order rather than in gaol. Bail is often the first issue, and where a licence is also gone the practical stakes are high from day one. The consequences of driving unlicensed after a disqualification are set out in our page on driving while disqualified.
Primary sources: the serious failure-to-stop offence is section 52AB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW); the injury offence is section 146 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW); the duty to stop and give particulars is rule 287 of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW). The ACT offence is section 16 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT). Sentencing guidance is collected in the Judicial Commission's sentencing benchbook.
Common questions
What must you do after a car crash in NSW?
Under rule 287 of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW), a driver involved in a crash must stop and give their required particulars, their name, address and the vehicle's registration, to any other driver, to anyone injured, and to the owner of any damaged property. The details must be given as soon as possible, and within 24 hours. If anyone is killed or injured, or if a police officer asks, the driver must also give those particulars to police. Where someone is hurt, the driver must also give any assistance that is necessary and within their power.
What happens if you leave the scene of an accident in NSW?
It depends on what the crash caused. Not giving your details is a regulatory offence dealt with by fine. Where the impact caused injury, failing to stop and assist is an offence under section 146 of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW), carrying up to 18 months for a first offence and an automatic disqualification. Where the impact caused death or grievous bodily harm, failing to stop is an offence under section 52AB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), carrying up to 10 years for a death and 7 years for grievous bodily harm.
What is the penalty for failing to stop after a crash causing death in NSW?
Failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing death is an offence under section 52AB(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) with a maximum of 10 years. Where the impact caused grievous bodily harm, section 52AB(2) applies and the maximum is 7 years. These offences are separate from any charge for causing the death or injury itself. A person can be convicted of failing to stop even where they were not at fault for the collision.
What does the prosecution have to prove?
For the section 52AB offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the vehicle was involved in an impact causing death or grievous bodily harm; that the accused knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the vehicle had been involved in such an impact; and that the accused failed to stop and give the assistance that was necessary and within their power. The knowledge element is both subjective and objective, so a driver who did not realise, but reasonably should have, can still be convicted.
What if you did not know you hit someone?
The offence turns on knowledge. If the impact was minor and truly imperceptible, and a reasonable driver in the same position would not have realised anything had happened, that can be a defence. It is an evidence question. Dashcam footage, the location and force of the impact, the state of the vehicle, road and light conditions, and independent witnesses often decide whether the driver knew or should have known.
What is the hit and run offence in the ACT?
In the ACT the main offence is section 16 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (ACT). Where a driver is involved in a traffic accident on a road or road-related area and someone is killed or injured, the driver must not knowingly fail to stop and give any assistance that is necessary and within their power. The maximum is 200 penalty units and 2 years imprisonment. A death caused by driving may be charged separately, for example as culpable driving under section 29 of the Crimes Act 1900 (ACT).
To speak to a criminal defence lawyer, call Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019.
This article is written by Aaron Kernaghan, criminal defence lawyer at Good Legal Lawyers, as at 24 August 2026. It is commentary and reflects the personal opinion of the author only. It is not legal advice, it is not a substitute for advice on your own matter, and it does not purport to be accurate or complete. Any matter referred to may be before the court and any person charged is presumed innocent. For advice on a specific matter, contact Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.
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