CALCRIM No. 2140

Injury—Defendant Driver (Veh. Code, §§ 20001, 20003 & 20004)

The defendant is charged [in Count] with failing to perform a

legal duty following a vehicle accident that caused (death/ [or]

[permanent] injury) to another person [in violation of

<insert appropriate code section[s]>].

To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must

prove that:

1. While driving, the defendant was involved in a vehicle accident;

2. The accident caused (the death of/ [or] [permanent, serious]

injury to) someone else;

3. The defendant knew that (he/she) had been involved in an

accident that injured another person [or knew from the nature of

the accident that it was probable that another person had been

injured];

AND

4. The defendant willfully failed to perform one or more of the

following duties:

(a) To immediately stop at the scene of the accident;

(b) To provide reasonable assistance to any person injured in the

accident;

(c) To give to (the person struck/the driver or occupants of any

vehicle collided with) or any peace officer at the scene of the

accident all of the following information:

• The defendant’s name and current residence address;

[AND]

• The registration number of the vehicle (he/she) was

driving(;/.)

<Give following sentence if defendant not owner of vehicle.>

[[AND]

• The name and current residence address of the owner of

the vehicle if the defendant is not the owner(;/.)]

<Give following sentence if occupants of defendant’s vehicle were

injured.>

[AND

• The names and current residence addresses of any

occupants of the defendant’s vehicle who were injured in

the accident.]

[AND]

(d) When requested, to show (his/her) driver’s license if available

to (the person struck/the driver or occupants of any vehicle

collided with) or any peace officer at the scene of the

accident(;/.)

<Give element 4(e) if accident caused death.>

[AND

(e) The driver must, without unnecessary delay, notify either the

police department of the city where the accident happened or

the local headquarters of the California Highway Patrol if the

accident happened in an unincorporated area.]

Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on

purpose. It is not required that he or she intend to break the law, hurt

someone else, or gain any advantage.

The duty to immediately stop means that the driver must stop his or her

vehicle as soon as reasonably possible under the circumstances.

To provide reasonable assistance means the driver must determine what

assistance, if any, the injured person needs and make a reasonable effort

to see that such assistance is provided, either by the driver or someone

else. Reasonable assistance includes transporting anyone who has been

injured for medical treatment, or arranging the transportation for such

treatment, if it is apparent that treatment is necessary or if an injured

person requests transportation. [The driver is not required to provide

assistance that is unnecessary or that is already being provided by

someone else. However, the requirement that the driver provide

assistance is not excused merely because bystanders are on the scene or

could provide assistance.]

The driver of a vehicle must perform the duties listed regardless of who

was injured and regardless of how or why the accident happened. It does

not matter if someone else caused the accident or if the accident was

unavoidable.

CALCRIM No. 2140 VEHICLE OFFENSES

Y ou may not find the defendant guilty unless all of you agree that the

People have proved that the defendant failed to perform at least one of

the required duties. Y ou must all agree on which duty the defendant

failed to perform.

[To be involved in a vehicle accident means to be connected with the

accident in a natural or logical manner. It is not necessary for the

driver’s vehicle to collide with another vehicle or person.]

[When providing his or her name and address, the driver is required to

identify himself or herself as the driver of a vehicle involved in the

accident.]

[A permanent, serious injury is one that permanently impairs the

function or causes the loss of any organ or body part.]

[An accident causes (death/ [or] [permanent, serious] injury) if the

(death/ [or] injury) is the direct, natural, and probable consequence of

the accident and the (death/ [or] injury) would not have happened

without the accident. A natural and probable consequence is one that a

reasonable person would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual

intervenes. In deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable,

consider all the circumstances established by the evidence.]

[There may be more than one cause of (death/ [or] [permanent, serious]

injury). An accident causes (death/ [or] injury) only if it is a substantial

factor in causing the (death/ [or] injury). A substantial factor is more

than a trivial or remote factor. However, it need not be the only factor

that causes the (death/ [or] injury).]

[If the accident caused the defendant to be unconscious or disabled so

that (he/she) was not capable of performing the duties required by law,

then (he/she) did not have to perform those duties at that time.

[However, (he/she) was required to do so as soon as reasonably

possible.]]

New January 2006; Revised August 2006, October 2010, February 2012, March

2019, September 2024*

* Denotes changes only to bench notes and other commentaries.