(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene as possible, but shall then return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident until the driver has fulfilled the requirements of § 55-10-103. The stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. The requirements in this subsection (a) apply to accidents occurring upon highways and the premises of any shopping center, trailer park or any apartment house complex, or any other premises that are generally frequented by the public at large.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-10-101

  • accident: includes any collision or crash, regardless of the degree of care exercised by the drivers involved or whether it was the result of criminal conduct. See Tennessee Code 55-10-101
  • ADS-operated vehicle: means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Driver: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Trailer: means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
(b)

(1) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(2)

(A) It is a Class E felony for any person to fail to stop or to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) when the person knew or should reasonably have known that death resulted from the accident.
(B) If, as a result of the same course of conduct, a person who is charged with a violation of subdivision (b)(2)(A) is also charged with the offense of vehicular assault under § 39-13-106, vehicular homicide under § 39-13-213 or aggravated vehicular homicide under § 39-13-218, any sentence imposed for a violation of subdivision (b)(2)(A) shall be served consecutive to any sentence imposed for the applicable assault or homicide offense.
(c) The commissioner shall revoke the license or permit to drive and any nonresident operating privilege of the person convicted of a violation of this section.
(d) As used in this part, “accident” includes any collision or crash, regardless of the degree of care exercised by the drivers involved or whether it was the result of criminal conduct.
(e) With respect to an ADS-operated vehicle, as defined by § 55-30-102, the requirements of subsection (a) are satisfied if the motor vehicle’s owner, or a person on behalf of the motor vehicle’s owner, promptly contacts a law enforcement officer or agency to report the accident and the ADS-operated vehicle remains on the scene of the accident as otherwise required by law.
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