Hit-and-Run Accident in Des Moines: Your Rights and Next Steps

Do not chase the other driver. Pursuing a fleeing vehicle puts you and others at risk and rarely ends well. Instead, stop where you are (if safe), turn on your hazard lights, and call 911 immediately. Tell the dispatcher it is a hit-and-run and provide any details you can about the other vehicle — make, model, color, partial license plate, direction of travel, and approximate speed.

Document everything at the scene while details are fresh. Write down or voice-record everything you remember about the other vehicle and driver — even partial information can help. Photograph your vehicle's damage from multiple angles, the road conditions, any debris left by the other vehicle (broken glass, plastic trim, paint transfer), and your own injuries. Debris and paint transfer are forensic evidence that can help identify the fleeing vehicle.

Get witness information. Other drivers, pedestrians, or nearby business employees may have seen the other vehicle or captured partial plate numbers. Witnesses who saw the collision and the other vehicle fleeing are powerful evidence for both the police investigation and your insurance claim.

Call 911 for any hit-and-run involving injuries. For property-damage-only hit-and-runs, call the Des Moines Police non-emergency line or file a report at the Des Moines Police station. Either way, a police report is essential — it creates an official record that your insurance company will require for a UM claim, and it initiates a criminal investigation that may identify the fleeing driver.

Provide the responding officer with every detail you can remember: vehicle description, partial plate numbers, driver description, direction of travel, time and location, and witness information. Even incomplete information can lead to the other driver being found. Des Moines Police can check traffic camera footage from city intersections, review business surveillance cameras in the area, and canvas for witnesses.

Iowa law requires drivers involved in accidents to report them under Iowa Code § 321.266. For the hit-and-run driver, their failure to stop is an additional criminal charge. If the driver is identified, the criminal case strengthens your civil claim — a driver who fled the scene has no credibility disputing fault.

Iowa law requires auto insurers to offer uninsured motorist (UM) coverage to every policyholder (Iowa Code Chapter 516A). UM coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance. For hit-and-run crashes where the at-fault driver cannot be identified, UM coverage may apply — but some Iowa policies limit or exclude coverage for unidentified-driver crashes. Review your specific policy language or ask your agent about this coverage.

For UM coverage to apply to a hit-and-run, you typically need to demonstrate that physical contact occurred between your vehicle and the fleeing vehicle, and that you reported the incident to police within a reasonable time. Some Iowa policies waive the physical contact requirement, but many do not. Photographs of paint transfer, debris, and damage patterns help establish contact.

Your UM coverage pays up to your policy limits for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages — essentially the same categories you would recover from the at-fault driver's liability policy if they had stayed. Review your policy to know your UM limits. If you carry the Iowa minimum of $20,000 per person, that may not be enough for serious injuries.

Many hit-and-run drivers are identified after the fact. Des Moines Police can use traffic camera footage from city-operated cameras at major intersections, particularly along I-235 interchanges, Fleur Drive, University Avenue, and other arterials. Many Des Moines businesses have exterior surveillance cameras that capture passing traffic.

Social media and community outreach sometimes identify hit-and-run vehicles. Des Moines Police may issue a public appeal with the vehicle description if the crash involved serious injuries. Body shops and auto parts stores in the Des Moines metro are sometimes contacted by police to watch for vehicles matching the description seeking repairs consistent with collision damage.

If the driver is found, your options expand significantly. You can file a claim against their liability insurance, pursue a civil lawsuit for full damages (including potential punitive damages if their conduct was particularly egregious), and the criminal prosecution strengthens your civil case. Finding the driver shifts the financial burden from your UM coverage to the at-fault driver's insurance, potentially giving you access to higher coverage limits.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime in Iowa, with penalties that escalate based on the severity of injuries. Under Iowa Code § 321.261, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage is a simple misdemeanor. If the accident involved personal injury, leaving the scene is a serious misdemeanor under Iowa Code § 321.263, punishable by up to one year in jail and fines.

If the accident results in death, leaving the scene is a Class D felony under Iowa Code § 321.261, carrying up to 5 years in prison. Iowa courts treat fleeing the scene of a fatal accident as a serious offense that warrants significant punishment.

The criminal prosecution happens independently from your civil claim. You do not control the criminal case, but a criminal conviction or guilty plea by the hit-and-run driver is admissible evidence in your civil case and effectively establishes fault. Even without a conviction, the fact that the driver fled the scene is a powerful negative inference that juries are allowed to draw.

Iowa follows modified comparative fault under Iowa Code § 668.3 with a 51% bar. If you are more than 50% at fault, you recover nothing. In hit-and-run cases where the other driver fled, proving comparative fault is difficult for the insurer — they cannot easily argue you were mostly at fault when the other driver's behavior (fleeing) suggests consciousness of guilt.

If the driver is never found, your UM claim is against your own insurance company. Your insurer may still raise comparative fault arguments — for example, that you were speeding or distracted — to reduce the amount they pay. This is why evidence from the scene (photographs, witness statements, dashcam footage) is critical even when the other driver cannot be identified.

If the driver is found, you can file a civil claim against them directly. The fact that they left the scene creates a strong negative inference about their fault. Combined with any criminal charges, this makes it very difficult for their insurer to argue that you were primarily at fault.

Iowa's statute of limitations for personal injury is 2 years from the date of injury under Iowa Code § 614.1(2). This applies to both civil lawsuits against the hit-and-run driver (if found) and UM claims with your own insurer. For wrongful death, the deadline is also 2 years.

Your UM policy may have its own reporting and claim-filing deadlines. Most Iowa auto policies require you to report the hit-and-run to police and to your insurer as promptly as possible. Unreasonable delays in reporting can give your insurer grounds to deny the UM claim. File the police report and notify your insurer the same day if possible.

Evidence preservation is time-critical. Surveillance camera footage from Des Moines businesses and traffic cameras is typically overwritten within 7 to 30 days. Witness memories fade quickly. Vehicle debris may be cleared from the road within hours. The faster you and the police document the scene, the better your chances of identifying the driver and building a strong claim.

Were you the victim of a hit-and-run in Des Moines? Get your free Injury Claim Check. You will answer a few questions about your accident and injuries, and we will provide a personalized report covering your UM coverage options, Iowa's hit-and-run laws, and whether connecting with an Iowa personal injury attorney makes sense for your situation.

Hit-and-run victims often assume they have no options if the other driver cannot be found. That is not true — your UM coverage exists exactly for this situation. Understanding what your policy covers, what evidence you need, and how to handle your insurer's investigation puts you in the strongest position to recover fair compensation. Free, confidential, and takes less time than waiting on hold with an insurance company.