Pasadena Hit and Run Lawyer

The car is gone. You are hurt on the pavement, maybe on Lake Avenue or near an I-210 ramp, and nobody gave you a name or a plate. That is a Pasadena hit and run, and it feels like the case ended before it began. It did not. California treats a fled-driver car as uninsured, so your own policy can pay for your injuries. But the law attaches two short clocks to that coverage: a police report within 24 hours and a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. handles hit and run claims for people hurt in Pasadena. Moe takes your call himself, gets to the video before it is erased, and keeps you updated by call and text. The review is free, and you pay nothing unless he wins. Se Habla Español.

A fled driver does not end your Pasadena claim

Most people assume that if the driver escapes, the claim dies with them. California law says otherwise. A driver who hits someone must stop, give a name, address and registration, and call for help if you need it (Vehicle Code sections 20001 and 20003). Leaving is a crime. For an injury crash it can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor, and when the crash causes death or a permanent, serious injury the possible prison term rises to two, three or four years. Those penalties punish the driver. They do not pay your bills. Your money usually comes from your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, because an unidentified car counts as uninsured under Insurance Code section 11580.2. That works only when three things are true. Your injury came from physical contact with the fleeing vehicle. You reported the crash to police within 24 hours. You filed a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days after that report. UM covers your injuries, not your car, so repairs depend on collision coverage you bought. If the driver turns up later and carries insurance, the case becomes an ordinary liability claim. We keep both paths open from day one.

Pasadena streets where serious crashes cluster

Pasadena's own safety plan looked at collisions from 2020 through 2024 and found that 13 percent of city roads produce 80 percent of the fatal and serious-injury crashes. The corridors named include Lake Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Orange Grove Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard, and community input also put Sunset Avenue and Allen Avenue among the plan's priority safety projects. That data covers every kind of serious crash, not only hit and run, so it does not prove a fled driver is likely on any one street. It does show where traffic runs heavy and fast, and where cameras and witnesses are most likely to be. Add the freeways. I-210 and SR-134 cut through the city, and the SR-110 Arroyo Seco Parkway ends at Glenarm Street, where freeway speed meets city streets. A driver who clips you at a Colorado Boulevard light can be on an on-ramp within a minute. When we map your crash, we start with the block, the direction of travel and the nearest business that faces the street. Then we ask which of those places has a camera, and who owns it.

Reporting to Pasadena Police or the CHP inside 24 hours

The 24-hour report is not advice. For an unknown-driver UM claim it is a condition of coverage, and the statute says where it goes: the police department of the city where the crash happened. Inside Pasadena, that means Pasadena Police. The department's headquarters is at 207 N. Garfield Avenue, and it takes collision reports on city streets. Freeway crashes on I-210, SR-134 and SR-110 are normally handled by the CHP, so a freeway crash inside city limits should be reported to Pasadena Police and the CHP both. Keep both report numbers. A hospital bed is no excuse for missing the window, so have a relative call if you cannot. Ask the officer to note that the other driver fled and to record any plate fragment, color or damage you remember. Then request your copy of the report through the Pasadena Police public records page. We could not confirm current fees or phone numbers, so check the page before you go. Also tell your own insurer about the crash and the report number, because the 30-day sworn statement runs from the date you reported to police, not the date you were hurt. Miss it, and a good claim can sink.

Finding video before it is overwritten

A hit and run is won or lost on evidence that expires. Business cameras on Colorado Boulevard, Lake Avenue and Washington Boulevard can record over old footage within days, and home doorbell cameras may keep even less. So the first week matters more than any other. We send preservation letters to nearby businesses, walk the route the driver likely took, and look for cameras that face the intersection, the parking lots and the on-ramps. We ask witnesses for what they saw, not what they think happened. Paint transfer, broken headlight plastic and a missing mirror cap can help narrow the make and model. Photograph the road, your injuries, your damaged clothing or bike, and any debris before traffic clears it. If you rode a bike or motorcycle, keep the gear exactly as it is. Finding the driver is a bonus. Your UM claim does not depend on it, but a named driver with insurance gives you a second source of recovery, and that can matter when your injuries exceed your own UM limit. Moe will tell you plainly if the search is worth the cost.

Huntington Hospital and the injuries that follow a hit and run

People hit by a car that does not stop are often thrown, run over or dragged, so injuries run heavier than in a typical fender bender. Huntington Hospital at 100 W. California Boulevard says it has the largest emergency department and the only Level II trauma center in the San Gabriel Valley, right here in Pasadena. Go even if you feel fine. Adrenaline hides fractures, concussions and spine injuries, and a gap between the crash and your first medical visit is the first thing an adjuster points to. Follow every referral, keep every bill, and tell each provider the crash was a hit and run so the record says so. Your insurer will read those notes closely. Because UM claims are handled by your own company, the adjuster who once sold you the policy now has a reason to pay as little as possible. Medical proof, a clear timeline and photographs answer that. We gather them so you can focus on treatment. We will not tell you to settle until your doctors know where you stand. A settlement signed too early cannot be reopened.

Deadlines, Prop 213 and what Moe does next

Two years is the general limit to sue over a car crash injury in California (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). For a UM claim you must also, within two years, sue, agree on an amount with your insurer, or start arbitration by certified mail. We calendar all of it when you call. Watch for the traps. Proposition 213 generally bars pain and suffering damages if you owned an uninsured car involved in the crash or cannot show proof of insurance as the driver, with a narrow exception when the other driver was convicted of DUI. Comparative fault lets an insurer cut your award by your share of the blame, so they may argue you stepped out mid-block or drifted into a lane. Past results are no promise of a similar outcome, but Moe recovered a $100,000 policy-limit UM settlement for a woman rear-ended by a driver who fled, after other firms turned her down. If the fleeing vehicle turns out to be a city or county vehicle, a different rule applies: you must present a written claim to the public agency within six months (Government Code section 911.2). If you end up suing a driver who is later found, the case is filed in LA Superior Court. The Pasadena Courthouse at 300 East Walnut Street is the local location, but the court's Filing Court Locator decides where a civil injury case goes, and we check it before filing. Call (323) 716-1992 any hour. The first conversation is free, and you will talk to Moe, not a call center.

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