I sold a truck and a week later the buyer wrecked it by hitting another driver and fled the scene.

I must tell you that I am not licensed in TX, but only in CA. I'm sure attorneys from TX will chime in to provide relevant information for your state's laws. Generally, when a person sells a vehicle, they are responsible for informing their state's department of motor vehicles within a specified time. One of the main reasons for this rule is to protect the seller from any liability that may be caused by the new buyer after the sale. Also, generally, an owner of a vehicle can be sued for the property damage and personal injury caused by the car that they are the registered owner of, even if they no longer own the car's title. It may be that you have no responsiblity in the factual liability of the accident, but without an identified driver of the car that you sold and no bill of sale in your hand, it may be difficult to prove which driver caused the accident. It seems you will have to wait on your insurance company's investigation. You can contact a defense attorney in your state to discuss this matter futher.

The registered owner is generally liable for accidents, however, since you sold this vehicle, your insurance company should be notified that it was sold.

Report the accident to your insurance company and let them know that it was sold, and they will take care of it.

This is why we do two documents when we sell a car privately (1) a bill of sale and (2) sign over the title. If you did those two things, then you no longer have an ownership interest in the car. I am not a TX attorney and I am not licensed anywhere except in my own 2 states, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. However, the first person you want to check with right now is your own local insurance agent, or an adjuster if you do not have one. The very first thing an insurance company does when a first report of claim comes in is to review all coverage issues to determine if coverage can be disclaimed. My office handles personal injury and accident cases in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. And despite the procedural and legal differences between our states, the insurance procedure aspects of this topic are universal across the U.S. Law Offices of Andrew D. Myers North Andover, MA — Derry, NH CLICK HERE: FREE ACCESS TO GENERAL PERSONAL INJURY WEBSITE: www.attorney-myers.com

The other attorneys who responded are not licensed in Texas. I am. In Texas, you cannot be held legally responsible, personally, for the actions of another driver, unless you placed the vehicle in control of someone whom you knew was an incompetent driver. The problem is that your insurance company may still be on the hook, as the vehicle, still in your name and presumably still covered by your insurance policy (since no one was notified about the transfer), was being driven with your permission, an obvious fact due to the fact that you sold the vehicle to the driver. This may count against you regarding insurance premiums in the future, as you may have to pay more for coverage. There may yet be something that might help. Did you sign or transfer the title of the vehicle over to the buyer? If so, that could be some proof that the vehicle was not yours; however, if the Department of Motor Vehicles does not have the transfer on file, you still have a problem regarding legal ownership. Sorry about your situation, but maybe this account will help others who have the same sort of situation and encourage them to follow through on transferring and registering titles when their vehicles are sold, whether by cash, check or credit card. Just be honest with your insurance carrier and they should handle the situation, but, as I observed above, this situation may effect your insurance rates in the future, as it will undoubtedly count as a claim against you. Good luck.