Hit and Run

NRS 484E.010(4) is one of the most consequential lines in Nevada criminal law for hit and run defendants: "A sentence imposed pursuant to subsection 3 may not be suspended nor may probation be granted."

That means in a felony hit and run case — one involving injury or death — a conviction results in a mandatory prison sentence. The judge cannot give probation. The judge cannot suspend the sentence. Whatever the court imposes, the defendant serves.

This is why plea negotiations in felony hit and run cases focus heavily on the charge itself, not the sentence. If the felony charge stands and the defendant is convicted, prison is mandatory. The defense has to either defeat the charge, create enough uncertainty to avoid conviction, or negotiate a plea to a different offense that carries different sentencing options.

Hit and run requires the driver to have been "involved in a crash." But involvement is a fact question, and it depends on whether the driver knew or should have known contact occurred. A driver who clips a pedestrian at highway speed in the dark, or who brushes another vehicle with a minor vibration, may not have had any actual awareness that an accident happened.

This defense is more viable in some cases than others. Where the collision was obvious — heavy impact, damage to the vehicle, airbag deployment — claimed ignorance isn't credible. But in genuinely ambiguous situations, the lack of knowledge that a crash occurred is a legitimate defense that forces the prosecution to prove awareness.

Dashcam footage, vehicle damage, and witness statements about what was visible from the driver's position all factor into how this argument plays out.

Nevada's hit and run statute creates a separate offense for each person killed or injured. An accident that injures three people isn't one count — it's three, each carrying 2 to 20 years. That exposure compounds further when the underlying crash also supports other charges: vehicular manslaughter, DUI causing injury or death, or reckless driving causing substantial bodily harm.

Prosecutors file the hit and run charge separately from whatever caused the accident. So a DUI where the driver left the scene results in both DUI charges and hit and run charges — and the driver's decision to leave transforms a potentially negotiable DUI case into a mandatory-prison felony case layered on top of it.

Early intervention — before charges are fully filed, while facts are still being developed — is the best position to be in on these cases. What the prosecution decides to charge, and how it characterizes the offense, is heavily influenced by what the defense does before the case is locked in.

Do not give a statement to law enforcement. In hit and run investigations, law enforcement will contact you after the accident — sometimes days later — and attempt to get you to explain what happened. Anything you say will be used to establish that you knew about the accident, which is the element they need to prove.

If you were driving the vehicle, preserve any evidence that bears on your awareness or state of mind at the time — dashcam footage from your vehicle, medical records if you had a medical event, or anything that documents the conditions you were driving in.

In cases involving injury or death, the mandatory prison provision makes this a case that cannot be handled without experienced defense counsel. Call 702-990-0190 for a same-day case review.

Once your case resolves, you may be eligible to seal the record — removing it from background checks. If you were convicted and believe legal errors occurred at trial, an appeal may be an option.