San Antonio Failure to Stop and Render Aid Defense Lawyers – Fighting Serious Hit-and-Run Felony Charges

The Extreme Severity of a “Failure to Stop and Render Aid” Charge in Texas

When a motor vehicle accident in Texas results in injury or death, leaving the scene is not just a moral failing—it is one of the most serious criminal offenses you can commit. Known legally as “Failure to Stop and Render Aid” (FSRA), this charge under Texas Transportation Code § 550.021 transforms a tragic accident into a severe felony that prosecutors pursue with relentless aggression. At Barton & Associates, we understand the panic, shock, and poor judgment that can lead a driver to flee. However, the justice system views this act as a conscious choice to abandon your legal and ethical duties, elevating it far above a standard traffic violation. A conviction is a life-altering felony that carries not only the potential for decades in prison but also a permanent brand as someone who fled from responsibility in a moment of crisis. If you or a loved one faces these grave allegations, securing an immediate, expert defense from attorneys who comprehend the complex interplay of traffic, criminal, and civil law is the only way to protect your future.

What the Law Demands: Your Absolute Duties After an Accident in Texas

Texas law imposes non-negotiable legal obligations on every driver involved in an accident. Unlike the lesser charge of “Failure to Stop and Give Information,” FSRA applies specifically when an accident results in injury or death. The required duties are strict and sequential:

• Immediately Stop Your Vehicle. You must stop at the scene of the accident, or as close as possible without obstructing traffic more than necessary. “Scene” means the location where the injury occurred.
• Immediately Return to the Scene if You Leave. If you initially leave without stopping (e.g., due to shock, driving to a safe spot, or unawareness of injury), you have an absolute duty to immediately return.
• Provide Reasonable Assistance. You must determine if anyone is injured and provide “reasonable assistance,” including arranging for or transporting the injured person to a physician or hospital for treatment if it is apparent that treatment is necessary or if the injured person requests it. This is the core “render aid” obligation.
• Provide Required Information. You must provide your name, address, vehicle registration number, and the name of your motor vehicle liability insurer to any person involved or the injured person.
• Remain at the Scene and Report the Accident. You must remain at the scene until you have fulfilled all duties. If the accident results in injury, death, or property damage to an extent of $1,000 or more, you must immediately report the accident to the nearest police department.

Critical Understanding: The duty to “render aid” is not optional medical expertise; it is the duty to take reasonable steps to ensure injured persons receive care. Even if you are not at fault for the accident, fleeing the scene makes you criminally liable for FSRA.

The Severe, Escalating Penalties for a Conviction

The penalties for Failure to Stop and Render Aid are among the harshest in the Texas traffic code and escalate based on the severity of the accident.

The “Civil Death” of Collateral Consequences

Beyond prison, an FSRA conviction triggers devastating lifelong penalties:

• Permanent Felony Record: A “violent” felony involving injury/death will appear on every background check, permanently barring employment in countless fields.
• Mandatory Driver’s License Suspension: The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will automatically suspend your driver’s license.
• Financial Ruin: You will face court-ordered restitution to the victims. In civil court, your act of fleeing will be used as conclusive evidence of liability, leading to massive wrongful death or personal injury judgments.
• Professional License Revocation: Any state license (nursing, law, engineering, teaching) will be revoked.
• Social Stigma and Pariah Status: The label of someone who “left someone to die” carries a unique and crushing social stigma.
• Immigration Catastrophe: For non-citizens, this is a deportable aggravated felony.

Common Defense Strategies for FSRA Charges

At Barton & Associates, we build defenses that confront the state’s emotional narrative with facts, law, and reason. Our strategies are tailored to the unique circumstances of each case.

Core Defense Strategies Include:

• Lack of Knowledge of Injury or Accident: This is a fundamental defense. The state must prove you knew an accident occurred and that it resulted in injury or death. We present evidence that you were genuinely unaware—due to a minor impact, loud environment, poor weather, or a pre-existing vehicle issue—that you were involved in an accident causing harm.
• Inability to Stop Safely or Fear for Safety: We argue that stopping immediately would have created a greater danger (e.g., on a high-speed highway, in a dangerous area) and that you proceeded to the nearest safe location to call for help and fulfill your duties.
• You Rendered All Possible Aid: If you stopped, assessed the situation, and determined no immediate aid was needed or possible beyond calling 911, we argue you fulfilled your legal duty. The law does not require you to perform medical procedures.
• Mistake of Fact: You made a reasonable mistake, such as believing you hit an animal or road debris, not a person.
• Challenging the Causation of Injury: We work with accident reconstruction and medical experts to contest whether the injuries alleged were actually caused by the accident or were pre-existing, which can affect the felony level.
• Suppressing Evidence from an Unlawful Investigation: If police located you or your vehicle through an illegal stop or search, we file motions to suppress that evidence, which can cripple the state’s case.

Why Immediate Action is a Legal Imperative

In FSRA cases, evidence is everything. Skid marks fade, surveillance video is recorded over, and witness memories become contaminated. The state begins building its case within hours; your defense must begin just as fast.

1. CONTACT A DEFENSE ATTORNEY BEFORE SPEAKING TO ANYONE. Do not make a statement to police, insurance adjusters, or the other party’s attorneys. Anything you say will be used to establish your “knowledge” and “consciousness of guilt.” Your attorney will guide all communications.
2. PRESERVE YOUR VEHICLE AS EVIDENCE. Do not repair your car. It is critical forensic evidence. Have your attorney arrange for it to be professionally photographed and examined by our accident reconstruction experts.
3. DOCUMENT YOUR RECOLLECTION AND ROUTE. Write down everything you remember about the drive, the supposed impact, your state of mind, and why you did not stop. Note the exact route you took, which can help locate potential exculpatory surveillance footage.
4. SECURE LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR THE CIVIL SUIT. You will be sued. Your criminal defense must be coordinated with your civil defense to prevent statements in one case from damaging the other. We can either handle this or refer you to a trusted civil litigator.

Why Barton & Associates is Essential for Your FSRA Defense

This charge requires a law firm with the resources to fight a multi-front war: against felony prosecutors, the DPS, and civil plaintiffs.

• Former Prosecutorial Experience with Vehicular Crimes: Our attorneys have prosecuted these cases. We know how the state uses accident reconstruction, black box data, and cell phone records to prove knowledge and intent.
• Access to Premier Accident Reconstruction Experts: We retain top engineers and reconstructionists to create alternative, science-based explanations for the accident and your actions.
• Aggressive Investigation from Day One: We dispatch investigators to the scene immediately to photograph evidence, canvass for witnesses and cameras the police missed, and preserve critical data before it disappears.
• Strategic Coordination of Criminal and Civil Defense: We understand how to navigate the parallel proceedings to protect your Fifth Amendment rights in the civil case while vigorously defending the criminal charges.

Your Future Is on the Line. The Decision You Make Now Will Define It.

A Failure to Stop and Render Aid charge is a legal catastrophe that mandates an emergency response. The potential for a decades-long prison sentence, financial ruin, and permanent infamy is real. This is not a charge you can talk your way out of or ignore.

Do not speak to authorities. Do not explain yourself on social media. Do not wait.

Contact Barton & Associates immediately at 210-500-0000 for a confidential and urgent case evaluation. We will take immediate action to protect your rights, begin our investigation, and start building the powerful, multi-layered defense you need to survive this crisis.