Beaufort Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer
Legally Reviewed by Brent Stewart: Sep 13, 2026
A hit-and-run crash can leave you injured, frightened, and unsure where to turn. The driver may disappear before police arrive, but that does not necessarily end your ability to seek compensation.
Stewart Law Offices can help investigate what happened, identify available insurance coverage, and pursue payment for your medical treatment, lost income, property damage, and other losses. Attorney Brent Stewart leads a team that represents injured people throughout Beaufort County.
He has practiced for more than 30 years and is licensed by the South Carolina Bar. His approach combines substantial courtroom experience with direct, personal attention to clients and their families. We put our extensive resources and legal knowledge to work for you so you do not have to face this challenging situation alone.
Common Reasons Drivers Flee the Scene in South Carolina
Motorists might abandon the site of a collision for a variety of alarming reasons. In many instances, the fleeing driver was engaging in Reckless Driving or operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Other individuals might be driving without a valid license or valid insurance coverage. Sometimes a driver is actively fleeing from law enforcement or attempting to hide a criminal record.
Regardless of the motive, leaving the scene is a serious crime in this state. You should never attempt to chase the fleeing vehicle yourself. Instead, you must contact local authorities immediately and let trained professionals handle the investigation.
Hit-and-run crashes are not rare incidents. A hit-and-run crash occurs somewhere in the United States every 43 seconds, according to data compiled from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and federal sources. NHTSA data shows that hit-and-run crashes produced 2,872 fatalities nationwide in 2023, down slightly from 2,972 in 2022 but still representing a dramatic long-term increase over the past decade.
South Carolina consistently ranks among the states with elevated hit-and-run rates relative to total crashes, driven in part by the state’s high overall traffic fatality rate and its mix of rural roads, tourist-heavy coastal corridors, and military installation traffic.
South Carolina Law on Hit-and-Run Crashes
South Carolina treats hit-and-run as a criminal offense under S.C. Code Ann. Section 56-5-1210. Any driver involved in a crash that causes injury, death, or property damage must stop immediately, render reasonable assistance, and provide their name, address, driver’s license number, and vehicle registration to the injured party and to law enforcement.
A driver who leaves the scene of a crash involving property damage only commits a misdemeanor. A driver who flees after causing injury or death faces felony charges, up to five years in prison for injury cases, and up to twenty-five years when death results. Those criminal penalties do not deliver compensation to the victim. Civil recovery requires a separate legal process, in which a Beaufort hit-and-run accident lawyer plays an essential role.
Civil recovery requires a separate legal process, where an experienced Beaufort hit-and-run accident lawyer plays an essential role in protecting victims’ rights, pursuing damages, and holding negligent drivers accountable.
Who Can File a Hit-and-Run Claim in Beaufort
Drivers whose vehicles were struck by a fleeing motorist, passengers riding in a vehicle that a hit-and-run driver struck, pedestrians and cyclists hit by a driver who fled the scene, and family members of victims killed in hit-and-run crashes all have legal standing to pursue compensation under South Carolina law.
The dangerous roads and intersections in Beaufort produce pedestrian and cyclist hit-and-run incidents with regularity, particularly along routes with limited lighting and high vehicle speeds. An experienced Beaufort hit-and-run accident lawyer can guide victims through the process, ensuring claims are filed correctly, evidence is preserved, and insurers or defendants are held accountable for the harm caused.
Get Help From Our Hit and Run Accident Attorneys
Suffered Injuries or Property Damage in a Hit and Run? Contact Stewart Law Offices Today
A Beaufort car accident lawyer from Stewart Law Offices pursues every available legal avenue so victims receive the compensation South Carolina law provides, whether or not the fleeing driver is ever found. Brent Stewart and his team handle every case personally, on a contingency fee basis, with no fees unless compensation is recovered.
FAQs About Hit-and-Run Accidents in Beaufort, SC
Yes. A Beaufort, SC, hit-and-run victim whose uninsured motorist coverage is in force can file a UM claim against their own insurer when the at-fault driver remains unidentified. South Carolina law treats an unknown hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist, which activates UM coverage for bodily injury. Our Beaufort car crash lawyer evaluates every applicable policy to identify the full scope of coverage available to each Beaufort hit-and-run victim regardless of whether law enforcement locates the fleeing driver.
A pedestrian injured by a hit-and-run driver in Beaufort, SC, may access UM coverage through their own auto insurance policy even though they were not in a vehicle at the time of the crash. South Carolina uninsured motorist coverage follows the insured person, not the insured vehicle, under most policy structures. A household member’s policy may also provide coverage depending on the specific terms. Stewart Law Offices reviews every available policy from the household to identify all accessible coverage for injured Beaufort pedestrians.
Our Beaufort auto accident attorney requests surveillance footage from businesses, intersections, and residential cameras near the crash site, obtains the official police report and all supplemental investigative records, gathers witness statements from anyone who observed the fleeing vehicle, reviews traffic camera data maintained by South Carolina transportation authorities, and coordinates with law enforcement throughout the investigation to monitor whether the responsible driver has been identified or apprehended.