Hit And Run (FSRA) Lawyer In Beaumont, TX
Failure to stop and render aid, or FSRA, is the Texas hit and run charge for a collision that injured or killed a person. It is filed under Transportation Code § 550.021 and fault for the crash is not an element, and this page covers the duties, the levels, the defenses and the felony process in Jefferson County.
What Is Failure To Stop And Render Aid In Texas?
Failure to stop and render aid (FSRA) under Transportation Code § 550.021 means the driver in a collision that injured or killed someone, or was likely to, did not stop, check for injuries, return, or stay to give information and reasonable help. It is a felony at the higher injury levels, and a death makes it a second degree felony.
Source: Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550, Accidents and Accident Reports
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Failure To Stop And Render Aid?
Transportation Code § 550.021 applies to the operator of a vehicle in a collision that results in injury to or death of a person, or that carries a reasonable probability of doing so. That operator has four duties:
- Stop at the scene, or as close to it as possible without obstructing traffic more than necessary
- Determine whether anyone is involved and needs aid
- Return to the scene at once if the vehicle did not stop there
- Remain until the § 550.023 duties are met: identifying information and reasonable help for anyone injured
The offense is a knowing failure to do those things. Texas courts have long required proof that the driver knew a collision had happened.
FSRA concerns what happened after the crash, not before it.
That is the difference from intoxication assault or manslaughter, which concern causing the injury. A driver can be blameless for the collision and still face this charge for driving away. It also differs from failure to stop and give information, the charge for a collision that damaged only property.
What the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The accused operated a vehicle involved in a collision
- The collision injured or killed someone, or carried a reasonable probability of doing so
- The driver knew of the collision
- The driver did not stop, return, remain, or give information or aid
- The level of injury charged, which sets the grade
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For FSRA Hit And Run In Texas?
The worst injury anyone suffered fixes the level, not the way the collision happened. These are statutory limits, not predictions for any one case.
Two to twenty years, fine to $10,000.
Two to ten years, fine to $10,000.
Set by art. 42A.516.
- Death
- Second degree felony. 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- Serious bodily injury
- Third degree felony. 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- Any other injury
- Up to five years in prison, or up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $5,000, or both.
- Probation on a death case
- If community supervision is granted, the judge must order at least 120 days of confinement as a condition.
- Record
- A felony conviction is a permanent public record and can affect work, licensing and firearm rights.
Penal Code § 1.07 defines serious bodily injury as an injury creating a substantial risk of death, or causing death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member or organ. That definition marks the gap between a third degree felony and the lowest FSRA tier.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About FSRA In Texas?
Can a driver be charged when the crash was not their fault?
What if a driver stopped briefly and then left?
What if the driver did not think anyone was hurt?
How does the state find the driver in a hit and run?
Can the injury level be challenged?
Possible Defenses
How Can An FSRA Charge Be Defended?
An FSRA case is assembled after the fact from fragments. The evidence has to answer narrow questions about the driver, the knowledge and the injury. An attorney reviews what the state can prove on each. No result can be promised.
Identity, knowledge and injury are separate questions.
Phone records, location data and camera video can place a person or vehicle at the scene, or fail to. Medical records are used to prove the injury level.
Constitutional issues include how a vehicle was identified, any search without a warrant and any statement made to investigators.
Who Was Driving
Can the state prove the driver, not just the owner of the vehicle?
Knowledge Of The Collision
Did the driver know a collision with a person, or a car carrying a person, occurred?
What Happened At The Scene
Did the driver stop, return or stay, even briefly, and what did the driver do there?
Injury Level
Do the medical records support the level of injury charged?
Lawful Identification
Were the vehicle and driver identified through lawful searches and records?
Statements
Were any statements voluntary and recorded accurately?
Local Process
What Happens After An FSRA Arrest In Jefferson County?
A felony FSRA charge goes to a grand jury and needs an indictment before trial. The court, prosecutor and jail are specific to Jefferson County.
Investigation
Crash reconstruction, paint transfer, vehicle damage, phone records and area cameras are used to identify the vehicle and the driver.
Warrant And Arrest
An arrest can come days or weeks after the collision, once investigators tie a vehicle to a driver.
Indictment
The case goes to the grand jury. If an indictment is returned, it is assigned to a district court for arraignment, discovery and trial settings.
Discovery And Resolution
Evidence is exchanged under art. 39.14, and the case ends in dismissal, a plea or a trial.
- Where it is heard
- Felonies in the district courts at the Jefferson County Courthouse on 1085 Pearl Street, prosecuted by the Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
- Who investigates
- Beaumont Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Port Arthur Police Department, Nederland Police Department, Port Neches Police Department, or Groves Police Department, depending on where the collision occurred.
- Booking
- The county jail, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
After a fatal collision, investigators can also look at whether the driver was intoxicated or driving recklessly. That can add an intoxication manslaughter count or a manslaughter count beside FSRA. In 2013 the Legislature raised FSRA involving a death from a third degree to a second degree felony, which put it at the same level as intoxication manslaughter.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After An FSRA Investigation Or Charge?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Decline To Talk To Investigators
Ask for a lawyer before any interview about the collision.
Leave The Vehicle As It Is
Damage and parts are evidence in both directions, so do not repair or alter them.
Keep Your Phone And Records
Do not delete messages, location history or photos.
Write It Down
Record what you remember and share it only with your attorney.
Save Court Papers
Keep any warrant, bond paper and notice.
Stay Offline
Do not post about the collision or contact the people involved.
Talk to a lawyer early. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about an FSRA charge or investigation in Jefferson County, and calling before an arrest can keep more options open.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550: § 550.021 and § 550.023 duties after a collision
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Felony punishment
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 1: Definitions, including serious bodily injury
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 49: Intoxication manslaughter and assault
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: Community supervision, including art. 42A.516
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Beaumont trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Traffic Charges
Other Criminal Traffic Charges In Beaumont, TX
One collision can support several charges, and FSRA is often only one of them. See the full Traffic Violations defense overview for Beaumont.
Evading Arrest
Running from an officer on foot is a misdemeanor. Doing it in a vehicle is a felony.
Failure To Stop And Give Information
Leaving a collision that damaged a vehicle without exchanging information. A Class B misdemeanor once damage reaches $200.
Reckless Driving
Driving in wilful or wanton disregard for safety. A criminal charge that can bring an arrest, not a ticket paid by mail.
Street Racing
Racing on a highway under Transportation Code § 545.420. A Class B misdemeanor on its own, and a felony once someone is hurt.
Street Racing With Bodily Injury
When a race on a public road injures or kills someone, § 545.420 makes it a third or second degree felony.
Common Questions
FSRA Hit And Run Questions People In Beaumont Ask
Is leaving a crash with injuries a felony in Beaumont, TX?
Under Transportation Code § 550.021, a knowing failure to meet the duties after a collision that injured or killed someone is graded by the harm. A death is a second degree felony and serious bodily injury is a third degree felony. Any other injury carries up to five years in prison, or up to a year in county jail.
Does it matter who caused the crash in a Jefferson County FSRA case?
The duties in § 550.021 fall on the operator of any vehicle involved in a collision that injures or kills someone, so fault for the collision is not an element of the offense. A driver who did nothing wrong in the crash can still be charged for leaving. The state must prove the driver knew a collision occurred.
What does render aid mean under Texas law in Beaumont?
Section 550.023 requires reasonable assistance to a person injured in the collision. That includes taking the person, or arranging for the person to be taken, to a physician or hospital when treatment is apparent or when the injured person asks. The driver must also give a name, address, registration number and insurance information.
Can an FSRA death case in Jefferson County be charged with intoxication manslaughter too?
The two offenses have different elements. Intoxication manslaughter under Penal Code § 49.08 concerns causing a death while intoxicated. FSRA concerns leaving the scene afterward. Both are second degree felonies when a death results, and the state can file both from one collision. How they are charged depends on the evidence.
How is a driver identified in a Beaumont hit and run case?
Investigators work from physical evidence such as paint transfer and vehicle parts, from video, from plate reads, and from phone records. Identifying a vehicle is a separate step from proving who was behind the wheel, and the state must prove the driver's identity beyond a reasonable doubt.
Can someone get probation for an FSRA death case in Jefferson County?
Community supervision can be granted on an FSRA death conviction. If it is, Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.516 requires the judge to order at least 120 days of confinement as a condition. Whether supervision is granted at all is decided by the court or the jury on the facts.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
An Investigation Can Move Quickly
An FSRA investigation can go from a crash report to a warrant. Call early, while video and records still exist.
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