The Duty to Report "Reportable Accidents" and Collisions with Parked Vehicles

State law requires the driver of a vehicle involved in a reportable accident to immediately notify the appropriate law enforcement agency of the crash. G.S. 20-166.1. A reportable accident is a crash that results in (1) a person’s injury or death, (2) property damage of at least $1,000, or (3) property damage to a vehicle seized pursuant to G.S. 20-28.3 for forfeiture in an impaired driving case. G.S. 20-4.01(33b). A crash is any event that results in injury or property damage attributable directly to the motion of a motor vehicle or its load. G.S. 20-4.01(4b). The terms collision, accident, and crash, and their cognates, are synonymous. Id. If the accident occurred in a city, the “appropriate law-enforcement agency” is the city police department. If the accident outside city limits, the appropriate agency is the State Highway Patrol or the sheriff’s office or other qualified rural police of the county where the accident occurred. The appropriate law enforcement agency must investigate a reportable accident and make a written report within 24 hours of the accident. G.S. 20-166.1(e). Such reports are made on Division of Motor Vehicles form DMV-349 and must specify (1) the cause of the crash; (2) the conditions existing at the time of the crash; (3) the persons and vehicles involved; and (4) whether the vehicle has been seized and is subject to forfeiture under G.S. 20-28.2. G.S. 20-166.1(h). The report also must contain information on financial responsibility for the vehicle driven by the person whom the officer identified as [...]