Victim of a Hit-and-Run in Minneapolis?

Do not chase the fleeing vehicle. Stay at the scene, check yourself for injuries, and call 911 right away. Tell the dispatcher it was a hit-and-run and give every detail you can about the other vehicle — make, model, color, partial plate, direction of travel. Even a fragment of a plate number can be enough for police to track down the driver.

Whether the crash happened on I-35W, along Lake Street, on Hennepin Avenue, or in St. Paul, getting police on scene fast is critical. Minneapolis PD and St. Paul PD can immediately radio a vehicle description to units across the metro.

Before witnesses leave, get their names and phone numbers. Other drivers, pedestrians, people in nearby businesses — anyone who saw the vehicle or the collision. Witness accounts and dashcam footage have solved countless hit-and-run cases in the Twin Cities.

Adrenaline masks pain. Concussions, soft tissue injuries, and internal bleeding often don't produce symptoms right away. Get evaluated at an emergency room or urgent care before the day is over.

The Twin Cities has excellent trauma care. HCMC is the region's Level I trauma center in downtown Minneapolis. Regions Hospital is a Level I trauma center in St. Paul. North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale and Abbott Northwestern in south Minneapolis both have full emergency departments equipped for crash injuries.

Medical documentation creates a direct link between your injuries and the crash. Without that connection documented by a doctor, any insurance claim gets harder. Those records become the backbone of your claim whether you file against the hit-and-run driver or under your own uninsured motorist coverage.

If officers responded to the scene, they'll generate a crash report. If they didn't, go to the nearest Minneapolis PD precinct or St. Paul PD district office and file one yourself. You can also call Minneapolis PD at (612) 348-2345 or St. Paul PD at (651) 291-1111.

The police report is your most important document. It creates an official record, captures scene evidence, and triggers an investigation. Hand over everything: vehicle description, witness contacts, photos, and the exact time and location.

Ask specifically about surveillance camera footage. Minneapolis and St. Paul have traffic cameras at major intersections, and businesses along University Avenue, Hennepin Avenue, and Lake Street often have exterior security cameras. Time is critical — many systems overwrite footage within 48 to 72 hours.

Minnesota law requires drivers to stop and provide information after any crash (Minn. Stat. § 169.09). Leaving the scene is a crime — a felony if someone was injured. Filing a police report also triggers your uninsured motorist coverage if the driver is never found.

Write down every detail you recall about the other vehicle. Color, size, body style, bumper stickers, loud exhaust, tinted windows, any damage. Which direction did they flee? Did they brake before impact or accelerate through the collision?

Photograph your vehicle damage, the crash location, skid marks, debris, and paint transfer on your car. Paint transfer is physical evidence — forensic analysis can match it to the other vehicle's factory color. Do not wash your car or repair the damage until police have examined it.

If you were a pedestrian or cyclist, photograph your injuries, damaged clothing, and the exact spot where impact occurred. Look for broken vehicle parts on the ground — mirror glass, plastic trim, headlight fragments can identify the year, make, and model of the car.

Save every receipt and record: tow bills, medical bills, pharmacy costs, rideshare expenses, missed work documentation. You'll need all of it regardless of how the claim unfolds.

Minnesota is a no-fault state. Your own policy provides Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits — up to $20,000 for medical expenses and lost wages — regardless of who caused the crash. PIP kicks in immediately and does not require you to prove fault or identify the other driver.

But PIP has limits. Twenty thousand dollars doesn't go far with serious injuries. That's where uninsured motorist (UM) coverage becomes essential. When the hit-and-run driver is never identified, your UM coverage steps in to cover additional medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering up to your policy limits. Minnesota law requires insurance companies to offer UM coverage to every policyholder, and many drivers carry it.

To file a UM claim, you'll need a police report and medical records linking your injuries to the crash. Your insurer will investigate and negotiate just like any other claim — don't assume they'll be generous because you're their customer. If you also carry underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, that provides an additional layer if the driver is found but carries minimal insurance.

If police track down the hit-and-run driver — through cameras, witnesses, plate readers, or the driver turning themselves in — you now have a defendant. The driver faces criminal charges under Minnesota's hit-and-run statute (Minn. Stat. § 169.09). Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a felony. These criminal consequences are separate from your civil claim.

On the civil side, you file against the driver and their insurance rather than your own UM policy. The fact that the driver fled works strongly in your favor — fleeing demonstrates consciousness of guilt and undermines any comparative negligence argument against you.

Minnesota has a six-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims (Minn. Stat. § 541.05), but the clock starts on the crash date, not when the driver is identified. Don't wait for the criminal case to resolve before pursuing the civil claim.

Minnesota follows a 50-percent-bar modified comparative negligence rule (Minn. Stat. § 604.01). If you're found partially at fault for the crash — for example, if you were crossing outside a crosswalk when a vehicle struck you and fled — your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. If you're 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.

When the driver is never found, comparative negligence is less of a factor because there's no defendant arguing fault. When the driver is identified, it becomes a real issue — but the driver's decision to flee fundamentally undermines their credibility. A jury is far more likely to believe the person who stayed and called 911 than the person who ran.

Hit-and-run cases have layers that standard crash claims don't. You may be filing against your own insurer. PIP, UM, and UIM coverages may all be in play. The statute of limitations is running whether the driver has been found or not. And if government road design contributed — poor lighting, missing signage, dangerous intersection layout — you face a 180-day notice requirement (Minn. Stat. § 3.736).

An attorney experienced with Twin Cities hit-and-run cases can file and negotiate the UM claim, push police for a thorough investigation, preserve time-sensitive evidence, and pursue the full civil claim if the driver is identified. Most personal injury attorneys handle these cases on contingency — no upfront cost, and they only collect a fee if you recover money.