81 percent of hit-and-runs in Cedar Rapids involved parked vehicles

CEDAR RAPIDS - Like most hit-and-run victims, Dayna Gerard never saw it coming, Or going.

“I was on my way to class, and I saw my car was in the yard,” said Gerard. “I saw the back end was gone.”

That was the first inkling Gerard, 19, a Kirkwood Community College student from Victor, had that her car - actually, she'd borrowed the 1994 Ford Escort from her dad while her own car was in the shop - had been totaled by a hit-and-run driver.

The car was hit by another vehicle, likely moving at a good speed, around 3 a.m. Monday outside Gerard's apartment at 5663 Kirkwood Ct SW.

“I didn't hear anything,” Gerard said.

The impact knocked the Escort into an adjacent sport-utility vehicle, which was shoved into a pickup, which in turn hit a car. Police are still looking for the driver who ran. Gerard said her father carried only liability insurance on the car.

Gerard's experience is typical of most hit-and-run victims, and even more so in Cedar Rapids. According to Allstate Insurance claim records, 81 percent of Cedar Rapids hit-and-runs involved parked vehicles, compared to 69 percent nationwide.

Police in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City can't make a precise count without reviewing every report, but Allstate's claim doesn't appear unrealistic.

“I would say it's a rare occasion when you're driving and hit and run,” said Iowa City Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton. “The majority of it is, you go out to your vehicle and somebody's hit it.”

Since Jan. 1, 2009, 441 hit-and-run reports have been filed in Iowa City, Brotherton said. Just 10 hit-and-runs were reported in which injuries occurred.

Cedar Rapids police fielded 858 hit-and-run reports in 2009, Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said. Twelve injury hit-and-runs were reported.

Other than parking in your own garage, there's little you can do to eliminate the chance of being a hit-and-run victim.

But Allstate recommends:

Call the police immediately to file an accident report.

Ask people nearby the scene if they witnessed the accident. Take down their reports and contact information.

Checking for surveillance cameras if the accident happened in a parking lot.

Taking pictures of any damage with a cell-phone camera or a cheap disposable kept in the glove box.