Hit-and-Run on the 118 in Northridge: Next Steps

Arya Firoozmand, Esq.

Local Northridge Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. A Woodland Hills native who attended nearby El Camino Real High School, he graduated from UCLA Law School and has represented injured Northridge residents throughout his career.

You were driving on the 118 through Northridge when another vehicle hit you and kept going. Maybe it happened near the Tampa Ave on-ramp, the Reseda Blvd interchange, or the stretch between Balboa and White Oak. At freeway speed, these collisions cause serious damage and serious injuries. The driver who caused it is gone, and you are left on the side of the road trying to figure out what to do.

Here is what to do next, step by step.

Step 1: Call 911 and Stay Safe

Pull to the right shoulder or the nearest safe area. Turn on your hazard lights. Call 911 immediately. On the 118, CHP (California Highway Patrol) responds to all freeway incidents. Tell the dispatcher you were the victim of a hit-and-run and provide your exact location, including the direction of travel and nearest exit.

Do not attempt to follow the fleeing vehicle. Chasing a hit-and-run driver on the 118 at freeway speed puts you and others at risk, and it rarely works. Let CHP handle the search.

Step 2: Document Everything at the Scene

While you wait for CHP to arrive, document as much as you can. Write down or voice-record everything you remember about the other vehicle: color, make, model, size, license plate (even a partial), the lane the driver was in, and the direction they were heading after the collision. Note the time. Take photos of your vehicle damage, any debris left at the scene, the road conditions, and your injuries.

Debris is important. Parts from the other vehicle, paint transfer on your car, broken headlight or taillight pieces, all of this helps investigators identify the vehicle. Do not move debris from the roadway unless it creates an immediate hazard. Let CHP document it.

Step 3: Get the CHP Report

CHP will take your statement, document the scene, and generate a collision report. Get the officer's name, badge number, and the CHP report number. You will need the report for your insurance claim. CHP collision reports are available through the Chatsworth CHP office or online within a few weeks of the incident.

CHP treats hit-and-runs as criminal matters. The investigating officer may review Caltrans freeway cameras, run the vehicle description through their databases, and coordinate with other agencies. Follow up with the officer regularly. Cases with more victim involvement tend to stay active longer.

Step 4: Get Medical Treatment

Go to Northridge Hospital Medical Center as soon as you leave the scene. Even if you feel okay, freeway-speed collisions produce forces that can cause injuries you do not feel immediately. Whiplash, concussions, herniated discs, and internal injuries can take hours or days to produce symptoms. A same-day medical evaluation creates the documented link between the collision and your injuries.

Tell the medical staff you were in a freeway hit-and-run. The circumstances of the collision, freeway speed, impact direction, how the other vehicle left, are all relevant to the medical evaluation.

Step 5: File Your Insurance Claims

Contact your auto insurer and open a claim. You will be filing under two coverage lines:

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage for your injury claim. UM coverage pays for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages when the at-fault driver is unidentified. This is your primary source of compensation after a hit-and-run.

Collision coverage for your vehicle damage. Collision coverage pays for repairs or total loss regardless of who caused the accident. You pay your deductible, and the insurer covers the rest.

Keep the initial call brief. Report the facts: date, time, location on the 118, CHP report number, and basic description of what happened. Do not give a detailed recorded statement about your injuries until you have spoken with an attorney.

Evidence Sources on the 118

The 118 freeway has evidence sources that surface streets do not. Caltrans operates traffic monitoring cameras at various points along the freeway. While these cameras are primarily for traffic management rather than surveillance, they may have captured footage of the vehicles involved. An attorney can send a preservation request to Caltrans before footage is overwritten.

Other drivers' dashcams are increasingly valuable in freeway hit-and-runs. If witnesses stopped, ask if anyone has dashcam footage. CHP may also collect witness information at the scene.

Businesses near the 118 on-ramps and off-ramps in Northridge, along Tampa Ave, Reseda Blvd, and Balboa Blvd, may have exterior cameras that captured the other vehicle exiting the freeway. A Northridge hit-and-run lawyer can canvas these businesses and request footage before it is erased.

Freeway Hit-and-Runs Are High-Value Cases

Collisions at freeway speed produce more severe injuries than surface street accidents. The 118 through Northridge has speed limits of 55 to 65 mph, and actual traffic speeds often exceed that. The force of a freeway collision causes the kind of injuries, herniated discs, fractures, traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, that generate significant medical costs and long-term impairment.

These injuries push UM claims toward the higher end of policy limits. If your UM coverage is $100,000 or more, the full policy amount may be in play. Getting that full amount requires aggressive representation because your insurer will fight just as hard to minimize a large UM claim as any other insurer would fight a large liability claim.

Do Not Wait

Evidence on the 118 disappears fast. Caltrans camera footage is overwritten on a short cycle. Business surveillance near the exits has a similar shelf life. Witness memories of one freeway incident blend with others within days. The sooner you involve an attorney, the better your chances of preserving evidence and identifying the driver.

What to Do Immediately After a Hit-and-Run in Northridge

A hit-and-run on Reseda Blvd, Tampa Ave, the 118 Freeway, and Nordhoff St requires fast action. If you are physically able, try to note as much detail about the fleeing vehicle as possible: make, model, color, license plate (even a partial plate helps), and the direction the vehicle traveled. If there are witnesses, ask them what they saw and get their contact information.

Call 911 immediately. LAPD handles hit-and-run investigations on city streets, while CHP handles incidents on the freeways. A police report is essential for both the criminal investigation and your civil claim. California Vehicle Code Section 20002 makes leaving the scene of an accident a criminal offense, and law enforcement takes these cases seriously.

Seek medical attention at Northridge Hospital Medical Center even if you think your injuries are minor. Adrenaline can mask pain for hours after a crash. The medical record from your first visit establishes the connection between the accident and your injuries, which is essential for your insurance claim.

Even if the hit-and-run driver is never identified, you may still have options for compensation. Your own auto insurance policy likely includes uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which applies to hit-and-run accidents. California requires insurers to offer UM coverage, and most drivers carry it. An attorney can help you file and negotiate the UM claim, which involves dealing with your own insurance company, not a friendly process despite what you might expect.

Contact our Northridge personal injury team for a free consultation. We handle freeway hit-and-run cases on contingency. No fees unless we recover for you.