Hit and Run Accident in Milwaukee: What to Do Next

Call 911 as soon as the other driver leaves the scene. Give the dispatcher every detail you can: the direction the vehicle fled, the make, model, color, and any portion of the license plate you saw. Even a partial plate can be enough for Milwaukee Police to identify the vehicle using their automated license plate reader (ALPR) network. If you are injured, request an ambulance — medical care is your first priority.

If you did not call 911 from the scene, contact Milwaukee Police as soon as possible. For non-emergency reporting, call (414) 933-4444. You can also file certain reports through the Milwaukee PD Police to Citizen (P2C) portal online. The critical deadline is 72 hours — you must report the hit and run to law enforcement within 72 hours to preserve your uninsured motorist insurance claim under Wisconsin law (Wis. Stat. § 632.32).

Get the police report number. You will need it when filing your insurance claim. The police report documents the time, location, your account of the incident, witness information, and any evidence collected at the scene. Milwaukee Police crash reports can be obtained through the MPD records division.

Photograph everything: damage to your vehicle, debris left by the fleeing vehicle (broken headlight glass, paint transfer, bumper fragments, mirror pieces), skid marks, your injuries, and the overall scene. Vehicle debris is crucial evidence — it can identify the make, model, and year of the vehicle that hit you. Paint transfer color and location on your vehicle helps police narrow the search.

Get contact information from every witness. Witnesses who saw the other vehicle — its description, the direction it fled, the license plate — are the most valuable asset in a hit-and-run investigation. Ask witnesses to write down what they saw while the memory is fresh. If anyone recorded video on their phone, get their contact information so your attorney can obtain it.

Look for surveillance cameras. Check nearby businesses, traffic lights, residential doorbell cameras, and parking garage cameras that may have captured the fleeing vehicle. Note the locations of any cameras you see. If the hit and run occurred on a major road, WisDOT may have traffic camera footage from 511wi.gov. Milwaukee Police also use Flock Safety ALPR cameras — 29 are deployed across the city, along with 39 Genetec license plate readers — that capture plates of passing vehicles and can be searched after the fact to identify suspect vehicles.

Wisconsin law requires every auto insurance policy to include uninsured motorist (UM) bodily injury coverage at minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. This is not optional — insurers must include it. UM coverage is specifically designed for situations like hit and runs where the at-fault driver cannot be identified or has no insurance. If you were injured in a hit and run, your own UM coverage can pay for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

To trigger UM coverage for a hit and run, you must report the accident to law enforcement within 72 hours. If the fleeing vehicle never made physical contact with your car — for example, it swerved into your lane and forced you off the road (a "phantom vehicle" scenario) — Wisconsin law (Wis. Stat. § 632.32) still allows a UM claim, but with additional requirements: you must file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days and provide corroboration from a third party (a witness, surveillance footage, or other independent evidence).

UM coverage does not cover property damage to your vehicle — only bodily injury. For vehicle damage in a hit and run, you would use your collision coverage if you carry it. If you purchased UM/UIM coverage above the state minimum, your full policy limits are available for your claim. Do not let the insurance company minimize your claim — you pay premiums for this coverage specifically for situations like this.

Milwaukee Police use several tools to identify hit-and-run vehicles. The Flock Safety ALPR camera network captures license plates of vehicles passing camera locations throughout the city. If police can determine the approximate time and direction the fleeing vehicle traveled, they can search ALPR data for vehicles matching the description. The 29 Flock cameras and 39 Genetec readers provide broad coverage across Milwaukee, and this technology has led to arrests in multiple hit-and-run cases.

Investigators also canvass for private surveillance footage near the crash scene — business cameras, residential doorbell cameras, and parking lot cameras. Vehicle debris at the scene (paint, glass, bumper fragments, mirror housings) helps identify the make, model, and year of the fleeing vehicle. Wisconsin DOT traffic cameras along freeways may also capture relevant footage.

Solve rates for hit and runs vary significantly by severity. Fatal hit and runs have the highest clearance rates because police dedicate the most resources. Injury cases receive moderate investigation, and property-damage-only cases receive the least. If the police investigation stalls, your attorney can conduct an independent investigation — hiring a private investigator to canvass for footage, posting the vehicle description on social media, and checking local body shops for vehicles matching the damage profile.

Wisconsin takes hit and run seriously, and the penalties escalate sharply based on injury severity. Under Wis. Stat. § 346.67, any driver involved in an accident must stop, provide information, and render aid. Failing to do so triggers criminal charges under Wis. Stat. § 346.74.

Leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage only is a misdemeanor with up to 6 months in jail and $300-$1,000 in fines. Leaving the scene of an accident causing injury (not great bodily harm) is a misdemeanor with up to 9 months in jail and up to $10,000 in fines. Leaving the scene of an accident causing great bodily harm is a Class E felony with up to 15 years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines. Leaving the scene of an accident causing death is a Class D felony with up to 25 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

If the hit-and-run driver is identified and charged, the criminal case is separate from your civil claim — just like with drunk driving cases. You do not need a criminal conviction to pursue your civil claim for damages. However, if the driver is convicted, that conviction can be used as evidence in your civil case.

There are multiple deadlines in a hit-and-run case, and missing any of them can damage or destroy your claim. Report the accident to law enforcement within 72 hours to preserve your UM insurance claim. If police did not respond to the scene, file a written Driver Report of Accident with WisDOT within 10 days for any crash with $1,000 or more in property damage (Wis. Stat. § 346.70). For phantom vehicle UM claims (no physical contact), file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days.

Wisconsin's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is 3 years from the date of injury (Wis. Stat. § 893.54). For wrongful death claims, the deadline is 2 years from the date of death. These are hard deadlines — if you miss them, your claim is permanently barred regardless of how strong your case is.

Notify your insurance company promptly. While there is no specific statutory deadline for notifying your insurer (beyond the 30-day sworn statement for phantom vehicles), most policies require notification "as soon as practicable." Delaying notification gives the insurer grounds to argue the delay prejudiced their investigation. Call your insurer within 24 hours of the hit and run.

Were you the victim of a hit and run in Milwaukee? 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, what evidence to preserve, and whether connecting with a Milwaukee personal injury attorney makes sense for your situation.

Hit-and-run victims often feel helpless — the other driver is gone and you are left with injuries and damage. But you have options. Wisconsin's mandatory UM coverage exists specifically for this situation, and Milwaukee Police have increasingly effective tools to identify hit-and-run vehicles. Start with the Injury Claim Check. It is free, confidential, and takes less time than waiting on hold with your insurance company.