Hit and Run Bicycle Accident Illinois: 5 Key Facts

Last Updated: October 24, 2026

215 ILCS 5/143a(1) requires a qualifying motor-vehicle liability policy to cover a person insured under that policy who is legally entitled to recover damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured or hit-and-run motor vehicle because of bodily injury, at the limits in 625 ILCS 5/7-203. The policy states who is insured. 625 ILCS 5/11-401(a) requires the driver of a vehicle involved in a personal-injury or death crash to stop and remain until the requirements of section 11-403 have been fulfilled. Failure to comply with paragraph (a) is a Class 4 felony.

The Stop and the Report

Section 11-401 defines personal injury as any injury requiring immediate professional treatment in a medical facility or doctor’s office. Paragraph (b) requires a person who failed to stop or to comply with paragraph (a) to report the place, date, approximate time, driver’s name and address, registration number, and the names of the other occupants, at a police station or sheriff’s office near the crash. The report is due as soon as possible and in no case later than one-half hour after the crash, or, if the person is hospitalized and incapacitated during that period, one-half hour after discharge. A report made under paragraph (b) shall not be used as a basis for prosecuting a violation of paragraph (a). Failure to comply with paragraph (b) is a Class 2 felony when the crash does not result in death, and a Class 1 felony when the crash results in death. Paragraph (e) requires the Secretary of State to revoke the driving privilege of a person convicted of a violation of the section. The source is P.A. 102-982, effective July 1, 2023.

Bodily-Injury Coverage

Section 143a(1) uses the words persons insured thereunder. It includes a hit-and-run motor vehicle in that bodily-injury coverage. It does not say that every bicycle rider is a named insured or a resident relative. The declarations and the policy state who is insured.

Subsection (2) is property-damage coverage for the motor vehicle described in the policy. An insurer issuing that property coverage may provide that recoverable losses are limited to actual physical contact of an uninsured motor vehicle with the insured motor vehicle. A claim under that property coverage shall include the owner’s name and address, or a registration number and description, or other available information for the stated purpose. Those property sentences describe the insured motor vehicle.

What the Proof Can Include

A police report, a photograph, a witness description, and camera footage can be part of the proof. None of those items decides who is a person insured under the policy, and none replaces the requirement that the person be legally entitled to recover damages because of bodily injury.

Medical care and pain and suffering are proved in that person’s own injury claim. Instruction 30.05 addresses pain and suffering when the evidence supports it. The section 7-203 figures are liability minimums of $25,000 for one person, $50,000 for two or more persons, and $20,000 for property damage. They are not a measure of a particular rider’s damages.

Parker & Parker Attorneys at Law
300 NE Perry Ave., Peoria, IL 61603
Phone: 309-673-0069
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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I file a claim if a hit-and-run driver injured me while I was cycling?

Section 143a(1) covers a person insured under the policy who is legally entitled to recover damages for bodily injury from the owner or operator of a hit-and-run motor vehicle. The policy states who is insured. Section 11-401(a) is the driver’s duty to stop after a personal-injury or death crash.

Does my car insurance cover me when I am riding a bicycle?

Section 143a(1) uses the words persons insured under the policy. The policy states who that person is. The section includes bodily injury caused by a hit-and-run motor vehicle. It does not state a separate bicycle class.

How can a hit-and-run driver who struck a cyclist be identified?

A witness description, a photograph, debris, and camera footage can be part of the identification evidence. Section 11-401(b) is the driver’s later report. Those items do not decide the insured-person question in section 143a(1).

Related local guides: Peoria bicycle accident lawyer guide, and UM/UIM coverage guide.

Hit-and-Run Bicycle Accidents in Illinois: Recovering Compensation Without a Driver