Hit And Run (FSRA) Lawyer In Conroe, TX
Failure to stop and render aid, or FSRA, is the charge Texas files when a driver leaves a collision in which someone was injured or killed. It falls under Transportation Code § 550.021 and applies whether or not the driver caused the crash. This page covers the duties, the penalty levels, the defenses and the felony process in the county.
What Is Failure To Stop And Render Aid In Texas?
Failure to stop and render aid (FSRA) under Transportation Code § 550.021 means a driver involved in a collision that injures or kills someone, or is likely to, did not stop, check for injuries, return, or stay to give information and reasonable aid. It is a felony at the serious injury and death 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?
Most crash charges ask how the collision happened. FSRA asks what the driver did next. Transportation Code § 550.021 applies to the operator of a vehicle involved in a collision that results, or is reasonably expected to result, in injury or death, and it sets out four duties in order.
- Stop right away, at the scene or as close as possible without blocking traffic more than necessary
- Find out right away whether anyone is involved and needs help
- Return to the scene if the vehicle did not stop there
- Stay until the § 550.023 duties are done: identifying information, and reasonable help for anyone hurt
The state must also prove the driver knew a collision had happened. Texas courts have long required that knowledge.
Fault for the crash is not an element.
A driver who was rear-ended, or who struck a pedestrian who stepped out without warning, has the same duties as a driver who ran a red light. The collision may involve no crime at all, and driving away from it is the offense.
That separates FSRA from charges that punish causing an injury, such as intoxication assault or manslaughter. It also separates it from failure to stop and give information, the misdemeanor for a crash that damaged only vehicles.
What the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The accused was operating a vehicle involved in a collision
- The collision resulted, or was reasonably likely to result, in injury or death
- The driver knew of the collision
- The driver failed to stop, return, remain, or give information or aid
- The level of injury charged, which sets the degree
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For FSRA Hit And Run In Texas?
The worst injury anyone suffered sets the level of an FSRA charge, not how the crash happened. These are statutory limits, not predictions of what will happen in any one case.
A range of 2 to 20 years, plus a fine of up to $10,000.
A range of 2 to 10 years, plus a fine of up to $10,000.
Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.516.
- A person died
- Second degree felony. 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Serious bodily injury
- Third degree felony. 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Any other injury
- Up to 5 years in prison or up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
- Supervision on a death case
- If community supervision is granted, at least 120 days of confinement is a required condition under art. 42A.516.
- Record
- A felony conviction is a permanent public record and can affect firearm rights, work and licensing.
Serious bodily injury, under Penal Code § 1.07, means 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 the third degree level and the lowest FSRA level.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About FSRA In Texas?
Can I be charged if the crash was not my fault?
What if I stopped briefly and then left?
What if I did not think anyone was hurt?
How do investigators find a driver after a hit and run?
Can an FSRA charge be reduced?
Possible Defenses
How Can An FSRA Charge Be Defended?
An FSRA case is often assembled after the fact from fragments, and each fragment answers a different question. An attorney reviews what the state can prove about identity, knowledge and the injury level. No result can be promised.
Identity, knowledge and injury are separate questions.
Phone records, location data and camera video can place a person or a vehicle, or fail to. Medical records are used to prove the injury level. A night collision, rain or a low impact can all bear on what a driver knew.
Constitutional questions include how a vehicle was identified, any warrantless search and any statement 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 an impact with a person, or a vehicle carrying one, occurred?
What Happened At The Scene
Did the driver stop, look, call for help or come back, and for how long?
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 statements voluntary and recorded accurately?
Local Process
What Happens After An FSRA Arrest In Montgomery County?
The DA's Office runs a dedicated Vehicular Crimes Unit of prosecutors and investigators that responds directly to crash scenes and handles intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault and fatal hit and run cases. A fatal hit and run in the county can have prosecutors and investigators working on it from the scene onward, well before an arrest.
The Scene
Officers from the responding agency document debris, paint transfer, vehicle parts and nearby cameras before the scene is cleared.
Finding The Vehicle
Parts left behind can point to a make and model. Cameras, body shop reports and tips narrow it to a vehicle and then to a registered owner.
Warrant Or Grand Jury
An arrest can follow days or weeks later on a warrant, or the case can go straight to a grand jury for an indictment.
District Court
An indicted case is set for discovery under art. 39.14, hearings, and then a plea, dismissal or trial.
- Local prosecutor
- The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, through its Vehicular Crimes Unit on fatal cases, in the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center.
- Where it is heard
- After a grand jury indictment, in the district courts at the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center on 207 W Phillips St, at 207 W Phillips St.
- First responders
- Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Constables, Precincts 1 through 5, Willis Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department, Oak Ridge North Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Splendora Police Department, or Roman Forest Police Department, depending on where the collision happened.
- Where you are booked
- The Montgomery County Jail at 1 Criminal Justice Drive, run by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
When a driver leaves a fatal crash, investigators can also ask whether the driver had been drinking, which can add an intoxication manslaughter count. Without intoxication, reckless driving that caused the death can be charged as manslaughter. Since the 2013 Legislature raised FSRA involving a death to a second degree felony, leaving carries the same ceiling 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.
Hold Off On Investigators
Ask for a lawyer before any interview about the collision.
Leave The Vehicle Alone
Damage and parts are evidence in both directions, so do not repair or alter it.
Keep Your Phone And Records
Do not delete messages, location history or photos.
Write Down Your Memory
Record what you recall for your attorney only.
Save Court Papers
Keep any warrant, bond paper and notice.
Avoid Social Media
Do not post or reach out to anyone involved.
Reach out to an attorney early. A call to Mitchell Law Firm about an FSRA investigation or charge in Montgomery County is confidential, and contacting a lawyer before any arrest can leave more choices 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 Conroe 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 Conroe, TX
A fatal or injury crash can support more than one charge, and FSRA is often filed next to another. See the full Traffic Violations defense overview for Conroe.
Evading Arrest
Texas grades evading by how the person left. On foot it is a misdemeanor. In a vehicle it is a felony, with no prior record needed.
Failure To Stop And Give Information
Driving away from a collision that damaged a vehicle without leaving the required information. A jailable misdemeanor at $200 in damage.
Reckless Driving
Driving with wilful or wanton disregard for safety under § 545.401. A jailable misdemeanor, filed as a criminal case.
Street Racing
Charged as racing on a highway under § 545.420. A misdemeanor at first, with an impound at arrest and a one year suspension on conviction.
Street Racing With Bodily Injury
An injury turns a racing misdemeanor into a felony under § 545.420: third degree for bodily injury, second degree for serious injury or death.
Common Questions
FSRA Hit And Run Questions People In Conroe Ask
What are the penalties for a hit and run with injury in Conroe, TX?
Under Transportation Code § 550.021, leaving a collision that caused a death is a second degree felony with 2 to 20 years in prison. Serious bodily injury makes it a third degree felony with 2 to 10 years. Any other injury carries up to 5 years in prison or up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
Who investigates a fatal hit and run in Montgomery County?
The first response comes from whichever agency covers the location, such as a city police department, the Sheriff's Office, a constable precinct or DPS. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office also has a Vehicular Crimes Unit that responds to crash scenes and handles fatal hit and run cases, along with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault.
Can a driver who did not cause the crash be charged with FSRA in Conroe, TX?
The duties in § 550.021 fall on the operator of any vehicle involved in a collision that results in injury or death. Who caused the collision is not an element. The charge is about what the driver did after impact: stopping, checking whether anyone needed help, returning if necessary, and staying to give information and aid.
Is probation possible on a fatal FSRA case in Montgomery County?
Community supervision is among the law's options on an FSRA death conviction. Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.516 requires a judge who grants it in that situation to order at least 120 days of confinement as a condition. Whether supervision is granted at all is decided by the court or jury on the facts.
What does rendering aid require under Texas law in Conroe, TX?
Transportation Code § 550.023 requires reasonable assistance to an injured person, including taking them, or arranging to take them, to a physician or hospital when treatment is apparent or when the injured person asks. The driver must also give a name, address, vehicle registration number and liability insurer.
What if I did not know I had hit a person in Conroe, TX?
Texas courts have long required proof that the driver knew a collision had occurred. A driver who truly did not realize there had been an impact with a person is in a different position from one who knew and left. The state must prove knowledge from the circumstances, such as vehicle damage, the driver's actions and any statements.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
Investigators in a fatal hit and run start work at the scene. The sooner the defense reviews the same evidence, the more of it is still there to examine.
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