346.67 Duty upon striking person or attended or occupied vehicle.
(1) The operator of a vehicle involved in an accident shall reasonably investigate what was struck and if the operator knows or has reason to know that the accident resulted in injury or death of a person or in damage to a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person, the operator shall stop the vehicle he or she is operating as close to the scene of the accident as possible and remain at the scene of the accident until the operator has done all of the following:
(a) The operator shall give his or her name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he or she is driving to the person struck or to the operator or occupant of or person attending any vehicle collided with; and
(b) The operator shall, upon request and if available, exhibit his or her operator's license to the person struck or to the operator or occupant of or person attending any vehicle collided with; and
(c) The operator shall render reasonable assistance to any person injured in the accident, including transporting, or making arrangements to transport the person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that medical or surgical treatment is necessary or if requested by the injured person.
(2) Any stop required under sub. (1) shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
(3) A prosecutor is not required to allege or prove that an operator knew that he or she collided with a person or a vehicle driven or attended by a person in a prosecution under this section.
History: 1991 a. 316; 1997 a. 258; 2015 a. 319.
Violation of this section is a felony. State ex rel. McDonald v. Douglas Cty. Cir. Ct. 100 Wis. 2d 569, 302 N.W.2d 462 (1981).
Elements of the duty under this section are discussed. State v. Lloyd, 104 Wis. 2d 49, 310 N.W.2d 617 (Ct. App. 1981).
A “person injured" in sub. (1) (c) includes a person who is fatally injured. A subsequent determination of instantaneous death does not absolve a person of the duty to investigate whether assistance is possible. State v. Swatek, 178 Wis. 2d 1, 502 N.W.2d 909 (Ct. App. 1993).
“Accident" in sub. (1) means an unexpected, undesirable event and may encompass intentional conduct. By including intentional conduct within the definition, the reporting requirements do not infringe on the 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination. State v. Harmon, 2006 WI App 214, 296 Wis. 2d 861, 723 N.W. 2d 732, 05-2480.
“Accident" in the context of sub. (1) includes, at a minimum, the operator's loss of control of the vehicle that results in a collision. Because the defendant's loss of control of the vehicle occurred on the highway, even though the resulting collision occurred off the highway, she was “involved in an accident" “upon a highway" within the meaning of sub. (1) and s. 346.02 (1). State v. Dartez, 2007 WI App 126, 301 Wis. 2d 499, 731 N.W.2d 340, 06-1845.
Sub. (1) requires an operator of a vehicle to identify him or herself as the operator of the vehicle. State v. Wuteska, 2007 WI App 157, 303 Wis. 2d 646, 735 N.W.2d 574, 06-2248.
Given the general rule that “where the crime is against persons rather than property, there are as many offenses as individuals affected” and the statute's clear imposition of duties with regard to each of the victims at the accident scene, it is reasonable to presume that the legislature authorized multiple punishments under sub. (1). The defendant owed a distinct set of duties under sub. (1) to each of the 2 victims at the accident scene that he fled. Although stopping one's vehicle at the scene of the accident is one obligation that sub. (1) imposes, that requirement is manifestly in service of the statute's true focus: the operator's obligation to remain at the scene of the accident until the operator has fulfilled each of the enumerated statutory obligations owed to specified persons at the scene. State v. Pal, 2017 WI 44, 374 Wis. 2d 617, 893 N.W.2d 232, 15-1782.