Quick Answer — Toronto
Point Duty defends fail to stop after an accident charges under Criminal Code s.320.16(1) — the criminal counterpart to the HTA's fail to remain, which requires proof you knew the accident happened. Summary conviction carries up to two years less a day, a possible driving prohibition, and a criminal record. A licensed paralegal can act on a summary election; where the accident is alleged to have caused bodily harm or death, the charge falls outside paralegal scope and is referred to a lawyer.
Whether a collision becomes a criminal fail to stop or stays a Highway Traffic Act ticket turns partly on officer discretion, and in Toronto — where these are heard at the Armoury Street courthouse — what usually tips it is an obvious attempt to get clear of civil and criminal liability, with injury and damage weighing in — though since December 2018 that intent is no longer something the Crown has to prove under s.320.16, only the thing that draws the charge in the first place. People leave for reasons that feel urgent at the time — fear of the consequences, no insurance, no licence, a suspension — and none of that changes how the Crown pursues the charge unless it rises to a "reasonable excuse," which is a high bar: getting a dying child to a hospital might qualify, and even then the Crown will ask why an ambulance wasn't called. Identification is the same battleground as the provincial fail to remain, except that police tend to take extra steps to solidify a criminal file, so the first thing Point Duty Traffic Court Defence and Legal Services reads for is whether the Crown can prove who was driving — and where the incident was not egregious, a Toronto Crown is very often amenable to amending down to an HTA fail to remain or fail to report the accident. On scope, a paralegal may act on s.320.16(1); where the accident caused bodily harm or death, the matter goes to a lawyer.
Failing to stop after a collision involving another person, vehicle, or animal, with knowledge of the accident. The criminal counterpart to the HTA's Fail to Remain — escalates when injury or death is involved. Only the base offence at s.320.16(1) is within paralegal scope, on a summary election.
Section 320.16 of the Criminal Code prohibits a person involved in an accident with another conveyance, person, or animal from failing to stop and provide their name, address, and licence information, or fleeing the scene with knowledge of the accident.
Hybrid. On summary election: up to 2 years less a day. On indictment: up to 10 years. Where the accident caused bodily harm the maximum rises to 14 years on indictment; where it caused death the offence is indictable only and carries up to life. A driving prohibition is available at the court's discretion. Criminal record on conviction.
If Crown elects summary, within paralegal scope. If indictable election is made (common for injury cases), we refer to a barrister. Disclosure focuses on the accused's knowledge of the accident.
Toronto runs three Provincial Offences courts, not one — Toronto South on Front Street East, Toronto East on Markham Road, and Toronto West on Eglinton Avenue West. Which one hears your ticket is set by where it was issued. Summary criminal charges go to the Toronto Courthouse at 10 Armoury Street. We appear at all four.
10 Armoury Street, Toronto, ON M5T 0C2
(416) 327-5707
All Toronto criminal matters. Consolidated the former Old City Hall, College Park, 1000 Finch West, 2201 Finch West, 1911 Eglinton East and 311 Jarvis courthouses in March 2023.
Local practice notes reviewed 2026-09-01
Twenty minutes, confidential, no obligation. We’ll discuss your charge, the realistic outcomes, and the cost of defence before you commit to anything.
