A pedestrian was seriously hurt in a suspected hit-and-run crash near 35th Avenue and Thomas Road in central Phoenix, 12 News reported on September 2, 2026. Police have not said what caused the collision, and no arrest had been reported at the time of writing.
When the driver leaves, most people assume there is nobody to claim against. In Arizona that is usually wrong. A driver who flees the scene of a crash involving injury commits a felony under A.R.S. § 28-661, which requires a driver to stop, give their information, and render reasonable assistance. But the criminal case is separate from the injured person's civil claim, and the civil claim does not depend on the driver ever being found. Arizona auto policies treat an unidentified hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist, so the pedestrian's own uninsured motorist coverage generally responds, and it covers them on foot exactly as it would behind the wheel. A household member's policy can apply too. That coverage is the reason a fled driver does not have to mean an unpaid claim, and it is also why the police report matters: an insurer will look for corroboration that the contact happened at all.
What the law says about pedestrians here
Fault in an Arizona pedestrian case turns heavily on where the person was walking. A driver must yield to a pedestrian who is lawfully within a marked crosswalk under A.R.S. § 28-792. Outside a crosswalk, A.R.S. § 28-793 puts the duty to yield on the pedestrian. Neither rule decides a case on its own, because Arizona applies pure comparative fault under A.R.S. § 12-2505: a pedestrian found partly responsible has their recovery reduced by that share, never eliminated.
What to do if this happened to you or someone you know
Get the police report number. In a hit-and-run it is the document the insurer will want most, and it is what establishes that the collision occurred. Get examined the same day even if you walked away, because a gap between the crash and the first medical record is the first thing an adjuster will raise. Look for cameras: at that intersection, nearby businesses and doorbell cameras are often the only record of the vehicle, and that footage is routinely overwritten within days. And check your own auto policy for uninsured motorist coverage before assuming nothing applies.
If you were hurt walking in the city, our Phoenix pedestrian accident lawyer page sets out how these claims work locally.