THEA NE-Y ENERAL 

Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Director 

Texas Department of Public Safety 

Austin, Texas Opinion No. V-1390 

Re: Applicability of the statutory automatic driver's 

license suspension to a 

person involved in~an accident with an attended 

vehicle but involving no 

personal Injury and who 

leaves the scene of the 

Dear Sir: accident without stopping. 

In your recent request ou ask whether Section 

24(a)4 of Article 6687b, V.C.S., f automatic suspension of 

driver's license) applies to one convicted under Sections 

39 and 40 of Article 6701d, V.C.S., (failure to stop when 

in an accident where there Is no personal injury) as well 

as to one convicted under Sections 38 and 40 of Article 

6701d, V.C.S., (failure to stop when In an accident involving personal Injury). 

Section 24(a)4, Article 6687b, reads: 

"(a) The license of any person shall be 

automatically suspended upon final conviction 

of any of the following offenses: 

II 

. . . 

"4 . A conviction of a driver of a motor 

vehicle Involved in an accident or collision 

upon a charge of failure to stop, render aid, 

and disclose his identity at the scene of said 

accident or collision." (Emphasis added throughout this opinion.) 

Section 38 of Article 6701d provides: 

"(a) The driver of any vehicle involved 

in an accident resulting in injury to or death 

of any person shall immediately stop such vehicle 
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., page 2 (V-1390) 

at the scene of such accident or as close 

thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall 

remain at the scene of the accident until 

he has fulfilled the requirements of Section 40. Every such stop shall be made 

without obstructing traffic more than is 

necessary. 

"(b) Any person failing to stop or 

to comply with said requirements under 

such circumstances shall upon conviction 

be punished by imnrlsonment In the nenitentiarg not to exceed five (5) years or in 

jail not exceeding one (1) year or by fine 

not exceeding Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment." 

Section 39 of Article 6701d provides: 

"The driver of any vehicle involved in 

an accident resulting onlr in damaRe to a 

vehicle which is driven or attended bv anv 

person shall immediately stop such vehlcli 

at the scene of such accident or as close 

thereto as possible but shall forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at 

the scene of such accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of Sectlon 40. Every 

such stop shall be made without obstructing 

traffic more than is necessary. Any person 

failing to stop or to comply with said requirements under such circumstances shall be guilty 

of a misdemeanor." 

Section 40 of Article 670ld says: 

"The driver of any vehicle Involved In 

an accident resulting in injury to or death 

of any person or damaRe to any vehicle which 

Is driven or attended by any person shall give 

his name, address, and the registration number 

of the vehicle he is driving and shall upon 

request and if available exhibit his operator's, 

commercial operator's, or chauffeur's license 

to the person struck or the driver or occupant 

of or person attending any vehicle collided with 

and shall render to any person injured in such 

accident reasonable assistance, Including the 

carrying, orthe making of arrangements for the 
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., page 3 (V-1390) 

carrying, of such person to a physician3 

surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that 

such treatment Q! necessary or if such 

carrying is requested by the injured person. 

In order to fully understand Section 24(a)4 

of Article 668713, we must look to its history and that 

of the related act, Article 67Old, Sections 38, 39 and 

40. This latter act repealed Article 1150, V.P.C., 

which made punishable the offense of failure to stop, 

render aid, and disclose the driver's identity. Atty. 

Gen. Op. V-700 (1948). Article 66@b was passed in 

1941 and prescribed an automatic additional penalty 

for a person violating Article 1150, V.P.C. 'Article 

1150 was enacted In 1917 and provides: 

'vhenever an automobile, motorcycle 

or other motor vehicle whatsoever, regardless of the power by which the same may be 

propelled, or drawn, strikes any person or 

collides with any vehicle containing a person, the driver of, and all persons In control of such automobile, motor vehicle or 

other vehicle shall stop and shall render 

to the person struck or to the occupants 

of the vehicle collided with all necessary 

assistance Including the carrying of such 

person or occupants to a physician or surgeon for medical or surgical treatment, if 

such treatment be required, or if such carrying is requested by the person struck or any 

occupant of the vehicle collided with; and 

such driver and person having or assuming 

authority of such driver shall further give 

to the occupant of such vehicle or person 

struck, if requested at the time of such 

striking or collision or immediately thereafter, the number of such automobile, motorcycle or motor vehicle, also the name of the 

owner thereof and his address, the names of 

the passenger or passengers not exceeding 

five in each automobile or other vehicle, together with the address of each one thereof. 

Any person violating any provlslon of this 

article Is punishable by imprisonment in the 

penitentiary not to exceed five years or in 

jail not exceeding one year or by fine not 
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., page 4 (V-1390) 

exceeding five thousand dollars or by both 

such fine and imprisonment." 

,Under Article 1150, In the event a driver was 

involved in a collision, he was required to: 

ii 

2' 

Stop his vehicle 

Render necessary aid 

3 Give information as to his Identity. 

The violation of any of these requirements was 

denounced as a crime. The fact that no one was inj,ured 

in the accident did not alter the requirement imposed upon the driver and persons in control to stop or else be 

in violation of Article 1150. It was so stated in Morgan 

-- v. State, 145 Tex. Grim. 276, 167 S.W.2d 765 (1943), the 

Court saying: 

"The gist of the herein charged offense 

Is a failure to stop after having struck something or some one with an automobile, and we 

have heretofore said in Moore v. State, 140 

Tex. Cr. R. 482, 145 S.W.2d 887, 888, that 

IIn the first place it was appellant's duty 

to stop, wardless of whether or not anyone 

was inured 

iTFtr%-' 

see Garcia v. State, 131 Tex.Cr. 

9 S.W.2d 977; Bevil v. State B39 Tex. 

Cr. R: 5137, 141 S.W.2d 362, 363.1 . a * .'I 

It was this Act to which Section 24(a)4 of 

Article 6687b applied. In 1947, when Sections 38, 39 and 

40 of Article 6701d were passed, Section 38 in conjunction 

with Section 40 maintained the same general scope of Artlcle 1150, whereas Section 39 in conjunction with Section 

40 carved out a smaller offense from one of the situations 

originally embraced in Article 1150. These Articles made 

two classifications of drivers Involved in accidents. Section 38 in conjunction with Section 40 applies to drivers 

in collisions involving ersonal injury. Section 39 in 

conjunction with Section Et- 0applies to drivers involved 

in collisions where only nronerts damane results therefrom. 

It is illogical to presume that the Legislature 

would create a misdemeanor offense, finable only, from 

$1.00 to $200.00, from the general condition originally 

set out as a felony and intend for Section 24(a)4 of Article 6687b, to apply thereto now , without making specific 

reference to such fact. It wil! be noted that only Sections 38 and 40 of Article 670ld constitute the felony offense which was originally encompassed in Article 1150. 
\ 

. . 

Eon. Homer Garrison, Jr., page 5~ (V-1390) 

Nowhere is 

of Article 

670ld. 

it specifically stated that Section 24(a)4 

6687b shall apply to Section 39, Article 

Although the rule of'strict construction of 

penal statutes has been re!axed somewhat in Texas,still 

it Is not proper to extend the penal statute to embrace 

acts or conduct not clearly included within the prohibition of the statute. 

Section 39 of Article 6701d applies to accidents In which there is no personal Injury Involved.. Mb 

aid, as mentioned In Article 6687b, could be logically 

rendered to the injured as set out In Section 40 of Article 670ld, for no aid is required. Aptdescriptive word8 

for the offense set out in Sections 39 and 40 could be 

failure to ston and give ldentlflcatlon In an accident 

Involving only property damage. The descriptive words 

set out in Section 24, Subdivision 4 of Article 6687b 

are failure to stop, render aid and give identification. 

These latter words ap 

38 and 40 of Article % 

ly more appropriately to Sections 

701d where personal injury is a 

requisite to the offense. 

A conviction for any of the five offenses under 

Section 24 of Article 6687b results in an automatic suspension of driver's license. All five of these offenses 

can carry a jell or prison sentence. If Subdivision 4 

were to apply to Sections 39 and 40 of Article 670ld, it 

would be the only offense in the group which did not oarry a potential jail or prison sentence. We feel that the 

Legislature never intended to automatically suspend one's 

driver's license for a single violation which Is not considered severe enough to carry a possible jail or prison 

sentence. This is well indicated by the grouping of offenses in Section 24 of Artlole 66%7b, and would tend to 

show the legislative Intent to apply Subdivision 4 to 

Section 38 and Section 40 of Article 6701d u. 

SUMMARY 

Section 24, Subdivision 4 of Article 

6687b (automatic suspension of driver's llcerise) does not apply to a person convicted 

under Sections 39 and 40 of Article 670ld 
‘, 

Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., pkge 6 (V-1390) 

(failure to stop when involved ir. an 

accident with an attended vehicle where 

there is no personal Injury), which is 

a misdemeanor offense. 

APPROVED: 

Red McDaniel 

State Affairs Division 

Yours very truly, 

PRICE DANIEL 

Attorney General 

E. Jacobson 

Reviewing Assistant 

BY 

Charles D. Mathews Milton Richardson 

First Absistant Assistant 

MR/jmc/rt