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What to Do After a Hit and Run in Illinois

Thu 19 Mar, 2026 / by / Car Accidents

Last Updated: October 24, 2026

Call 911. The driver of a vehicle involved in a crash that causes personal injury or death must stop and remain at the scene under 625 ILCS 5/11-401. A personal-injury lawsuit is generally two years under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. An action for damage to property is generally five years under 735 ILCS 5/13-205.

What to Do After a Hit and Run in Illinois

A hit and run is disorienting. One moment you’re in a collision, the next the other driver is gone. You’re left with damage, injuries maybe, and no idea who caused it. It’s a lousy position. But you have concrete steps to take and more options than you think.

Step one: stay at the scene and call 911

Stay at the scene. 625 ILCS 5/11-401(a) requires the driver of any vehicle involved in a crash that causes personal injury or death to stop and remain until the requirements of section 11-403 are fulfilled. 625 ILCS 5/11-402(a) imposes that duty when the crash results only in damage to a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person.

Call 911 and report the hit and run. A police report is critical, it creates an official record of the incident, which you’ll need for both insurance claims and any criminal investigation. When officers arrive, give them every detail you can remember: the other vehicle’s make, model, color, license plate (even a partial), direction of travel, and a description of the driver if you saw them.

Document everything you can

After calling police, document the scene yourself. Take photos of your vehicle’s damage from multiple angles, the road conditions, traffic signals, and your location. If there are witnesses, get their names and phone numbers. Ask nearby businesses if they have exterior security cameras that might have captured the incident.

Write down your own account of what happened while it’s fresh. Include the time, your speed, what you were doing before the collision, and exactly what you observed about the other vehicle. These details fade quickly, and the statement you write within an hour of the accident is going to be more reliable than what you remember two weeks later.

Get medical attention

If you have any injuries, or any possibility of injuries, get medical evaluation promptly. The adrenaline of a hit and run can mask pain, and some injuries don’t produce symptoms immediately. A medical record from the day of or the day after the accident establishes the connection between the collision and your injuries. Waiting creates a gap that insurers will use against you.

Filing a claim when the other driver is unknown

Here’s what most people miss: even if the hit-and-run driver is never found, you may recover through your own policy.

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. 215 ILCS 5/143a(1) requires the liability policies it describes to include bodily-injury coverage for uninsured and hit-and-run motor vehicles at the limits in 625 ILCS 5/7-203: $25,000 because of bodily injury or death of one person, and $50,000 because of bodily injury or death of two or more persons. 215 ILCS 5/143a-2 allows a named insured to reject uninsured-motorist coverage above those limits in writing.

An insurer issuing the uninsured-motor-vehicle property-damage coverage described in 215 ILCS 5/143a may provide that recoverable property-damage losses are limited to damages caused by the actual physical contact of an uninsured motor vehicle with the insured motor vehicle. The bodily-injury paragraph of section 143a does not state that contact limit. A policy can still require physical contact for an unidentified hit-and-run bodily-injury claim. In Allstate Fire & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Bochenek, 2017 IL App (1st) 170277, paragraphs 14 through 22, the First District enforced a policy that covered a hit-and-run vehicle only when it caused bodily injury by physical contact with the insured person or with a vehicle that person occupied. The opinion describes a district disagreement about whether the Code itself requires contact, and the Third District approach discussed there still permits a policy to require contact. Paragraph 21 addresses indirect contact by an object from the unknown vehicle or by a chain of events, and it finds neither direct nor indirect contact in that case. Paragraph 22 leaves the separate bodily-injury definition undecided. In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Benedetto, 2015 IL App (1st) 141521, paragraphs 9 through 18, the First District enforced a policy that required the unknown vehicle to strike the insured or the occupied vehicle. Qualifying indirect contact is different from wind shear, which that court held did not satisfy the policy. The policy terms and the contact facts need review.

Collision coverage. If you carry collision coverage on your policy, it can cover the repair or replacement of your vehicle regardless of who was at fault or whether the other driver is found. You’ll pay your deductible upfront, and your insurer may attempt to recover it through subrogation if the other driver is later identified.

As our guide to UM/UIM coverage in Illinois explains, these coverages are often underused because people don’t realize they apply to hit-and-run situations.
If you need help navigating a UM or UIM claim after a hit and run, our Peoria uninsured motorist attorneys handle these cases regularly.

If the other driver is found

Sometimes the police identify the driver. A claim may then be made on that driver’s liability coverage. Failure to comply with 625 ILCS 5/11-402 is a Class A misdemeanor. Failure to comply with 625 ILCS 5/11-401(a) is a Class 4 felony. Failure to make the report required by section 11-401(b) is a Class 2 felony, and it is a Class 1 felony when the crash results in death.

If the other driver is identified but turns out to be uninsured, your UM coverage still applies. If they have insurance but inadequate coverage, your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage may supplement the difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my insurance go up if I file a hit-and-run claim?

The premium effect of a claim depends on the policy. Section 155.23 is a fraud-reporting section. It does not state a rate rule for a not-at-fault crash.

What if there was no contact between the vehicles?

The bodily-injury paragraph of section 143a does not state a physical-contact requirement. The property-damage coverage may provide that recoverable losses are limited to actual physical contact between the uninsured motor vehicle and the insured motor vehicle. A policy can still require physical contact for an unidentified hit-and-run bodily-injury claim. Bochenek, 2017 IL App (1st) 170277, enforced that kind of clause and addressed indirect contact by an object or a chain of events. Benedetto, 2015 IL App (1st) 141521, enforced a policy that required the unknown vehicle to strike the insured or the occupied vehicle, and it held that wind shear did not satisfy the clause. Coverage depends on the policy terms and on whether the facts show direct contact or qualifying indirect contact.

How long do I have to file a hit-and-run claim in Illinois?

A personal-injury action is generally two years under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. An action for damage to property is generally five years under 735 ILCS 5/13-205. A claim on the policy can have its own notice terms.

A hit and run doesn’t mean you’re out of options. If you’ve been injured and the other driver left the scene, the Peoria personal injury lawyers at Parker & Parker can help you understand what coverage applies and what steps to take next. The consultation is free.

Injured in a Car Accident? Get Clear Next Steps.

The Peoria car accident attorneys at Parker & Parker offer free, no-obligation consultations. Call 309-673-0069 or schedule online to discuss your case today.

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