Hit and run in Houston, TX: who to call and how to get paid when the driver is gone

Last checked November 8, 2026

After a hit and run in Houston, call 911 if anyone is hurt, or HPD at 713-884-3131 if not.1 HPD's Hit and Run Unit takes information at 713-247-4065.2 Your uninsured motorist coverage in Texas may need proof that the other car actually touched you or your property.3 You generally have 2 years to sue.4

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Road map of Houston showing city streets where the Houston Police Vehicular Crimes Division investigates hit-and-run crashes
HPD's Hit and Run Unit takes information at 713-247-4065. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Who investigates a hit and run in Houston, TX?

HPD's Vehicular Crimes Division. Police paperwork may use two labels you will not hear elsewhere: Failure to Stop and Render Aid when someone is hurt, and Failure to Stop and Give Information.5 If you see FSRA or FSGI on a document, this is what it means.

Inside that division is a Hit and Run Unit. It goes to the scene of FSRA crashes and does the follow-up on both kinds, including follow-up when only property was damaged.6 So a parking lot sideswipe still has a place to go, even if it never makes the news. The division's general number is 713-247-4072.7

Outside the city, start with the Harris County Sheriff's Office, which worked 26,110 crashes in 2025.8 The agency on your report is the one to call for updates.

What should you do in the first hour after a Houston hit and run?

  1. Get safe and call 911 if there are injuries. Texas says crashes with injuries must be reported right away by the fastest means.9
  2. Do not chase the driver. Write down what you saw while it is fresh: plate, color, damage, direction of travel.
  3. Photograph your car where it stopped, plus any paint transfer or broken pieces left on the road.
  4. Look around for store cameras, doorbells and people who stopped. Ask for names and numbers before they leave.
  5. Get the officer's name and the incident number. It will speed up everything later.
  6. If your car was towed, call HPD's tow line at 713-308-8580.10

How common are hit and run crashes in Houston?

We looked for an official count of hit-and-run crashes in Houston and did not find one in TxDOT's public annual tables. We can tell you the wider picture: Houston had 60,317 crashes in 2025, with 293 people killed.11 HPD worked 53,902 crashes that year.12

HPD's news releases show what these cases look like. On October 27, 2026, it reported a fatal hit-and-run on Leander Street in which a driver struck a person walking.13 Releases like that one usually end with a request for tips, and a tip can come from anyone.

Will my insurance pay for a hit and run in Houston?

It may, and the details decide it. Look for uninsured motorist coverage on your policy. In Texas you lose it only if a named insured rejected it in writing, so check before you assume you do not have it.14

What happenedWhy it matters
The other car hit you or your propertyThis meets the contact requirement for an unknown driver3
A car forced you off the road and never touched youYour uninsured claim may fail under that same rule, so look hard for paint, a witness or a video
Police later find the driverYou may have a claim against that driver and their insurer
The driver turns out to have no insuranceYour uninsured coverage may still apply. TDI says over 2.4 million Texas vehicles are not matched to a policy15

Call your insurer soon and read your policy's notice rules. Stick to the facts of what happened and do not guess about the other driver.

How do I get my hit and run report in Houston?

HPD's site says reports need 5 to 8 days of processing before they are public.16 You will need two details, such as the date and the location.17 Reports are sold through BuyCrash, and a copy by mail is $6.1819 For help, call HPD Records at 713-308-8500, option 3.20

Your first report may not be the last one. TxDOT's instructions let police send an amended report with more information on a hit-and-run.21 If the driver is identified weeks later, ask whether an updated report exists, and send it to your insurer.

How can I send a tip about a hit and run in Houston?

Call the Hit and Run Unit at 713-247-4065.2 HPD's directory also lists Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.22 If you find video, save your own copy right away. Many private cameras record over old footage.

Your tip helps the police case. Your money claim is separate, and it does not wait for an arrest.

What can happen to the driver who left a Houston crash?

A driver in a crash that hurts someone, or is likely to, must stop right away.23 The driver must also give a name, address, registration number and insurer, and help anyone who is hurt.24 Leaving is a second-degree felony if someone dies and a third-degree felony if someone is seriously hurt.25

If you are the one facing that charge, this page is not for you. Talk to a criminal defense lawyer before you speak with police.

Questions

How long do I have after a hit and run in Houston?

Generally 2 years to sue.4 Your insurance policy may have much shorter notice rules, so call your insurer soon.

Do I have a claim if the car never touched me?

It is harder. Texas uninsured coverage for an unknown driver may require actual contact.3

Will HPD investigate a hit and run with only car damage?

Its Hit and Run Unit does follow-up on property damage from hit-and-run collisions.6

What does FSRA mean on my Houston paperwork?

Failure to Stop and Render Aid, HPD's term for leaving a crash in which someone was hurt.5

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Sources

  1. Houston Police, Phone Directory, checked 2026-11-08. “Non-emergency Calls for Police Service -- (713) 884-3131”
  2. Houston Police, News Release, October 27, 2026, checked 2026-11-08. “contact the HPD Hit and Run Unit at 713-247-4065”
  3. Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104(3), checked 2026-11-08. “require that, for the insured to recover under the uninsured motorist coverage if the owner or operator of any motor vehicle that causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, actual physical contact must have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured.”
  4. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
  5. Houston Police, Vehicular Crimes, checked 2026-11-08. “VCD is specifically tasked with investigating crashes with a criminal nexus, such as fatal crashes, Failure to Stop and Render Aid (FSRA), Failure to Stop and Give Information (FSGI) accidents, as well as crashes involving HPD and HFD fleet vehicles.”
  6. Houston Police, Vehicular Crimes, checked 2026-11-08. “conducts on‐scene investigations for FSRA accidents and conducts follow‐up investigations on FSRA and FSGI accidents, as well as follow‐up investigations on property damage from hit and run collisions”
  7. Houston Police, Phone Directory, checked 2026-11-08. “Vehicular Crimes Division 713 247-4072”
  8. TxDOT, 2025 Crashes and Injuries by Investigating Agency, checked 2026-11-08. “HARRIS COUNTY 146 150 601 695 2,456 3,464 2,650 4,007 19,520 53,604 737 4,580 26,110 SO”
  9. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.026(a), checked 2026-11-08. “shall immediately by the quickest means of communication give notice of the collision to the:”
  10. Houston Police, Towed Vehicles FAQ, checked 2026-11-08. “You can call the tow line at 713-308-8580 or go to Findmytowedcar.com.”
  11. TxDOT, 2025 Crashes and Injuries Cities and Towns, checked 2026-11-08. “HOUSTON 273 293 1,249 1,465 5,173 7,285 12,649 19,059 38,296 112,109 2,677 19,011 60,317”
  12. TxDOT, 2025 Crashes and Injuries by Investigating Agency, checked 2026-11-08. “HOUSTON PD 264 284 1,086 1,279 4,276 5,953 12,300 18,429 33,421 97,773 2,555 18,384 53,902”
  13. Houston Police, News Release, October 27, 2026, checked 2026-11-08. “Houston police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run crash in the 8300 block of Leander Street”
  14. Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(c), checked 2026-11-08. “The coverage required by this subchapter does not apply if any insured named in the insurance policy rejects the coverage in writing.”
  15. Texas Department of Insurance, Uninsured motorist coverage, checked 2026-11-08. “More than 2.4 million state-registered vehicles are not matched to an insurance policy.”
  16. Houston Police, Public Information Requests, checked 2026-11-08. “Accident reports require 5 to 8 days processing time before they are available to the public.”
  17. Houston Police, Public Information Requests, checked 2026-11-08. “You must provide at least two of the following in order to obtain an accident report”
  18. Houston Police, Public Information Requests, checked 2026-11-08. “Crash Reports can be purchased online from the Texas Department of Transportation at https://buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com”
  19. Houston Police, Public Information Requests, checked 2026-11-08. “Send a check / money order for $6.00 (made payable to the City of Houston)”
  20. Houston Police, Public Information Requests, checked 2026-11-08. “Accident reports are handled by the Records Division, 713.308.8500 - Option 3.”
  21. TxDOT, CR-100 Instructions to Police, checked 2026-11-08. “information on a Hit and Run crash, or making any corrections or changes to the original report.”
  22. Houston Police, Phone Directory, checked 2026-11-08. “Crime Stoppers 713 222-8477”
  23. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.021(a), checked 2026-11-08. “The operator of a vehicle involved in a collision that results or is reasonably likely to result in injury to or death of a person shall: (1) immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the collision or as close to the scene as possible;”
  24. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.023, checked 2026-11-08. “(1) give the operator's name and address, the registration number of the vehicle the operator was driving, and the name of the operator's motor vehicle liability insurer [...] (3) provide any person injured in the collision reasonable assistance”
  25. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.021(c), checked 2026-11-08. “(A) death of a person is a felony of the second degree; or (B) serious bodily injury, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, to a person is a felony of the third degree;”

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