Fatal car crashes in Des Moines, IA: deadliest roads, 2020-2024

From 2020 through 2024, federal crash records list 93 fatal crashes inside Des Moines, in which 104 people died. The roads with the most were US-69 with 12 fatal crashes, I-235 with 7 and University Ave (US-163) with 5.

Filing deadline, fault rule, insurance and the court for a crash in Des Moines: Des Moines, IA injury guide.

Des Moines recorded between 17 and 21 fatal crashes in every year from 2020 through 2024: 18, then 21, 20, 17 and 17. Those 93 crashes killed 104 people, 23 in each of the first two years and then 20, 18 and 20, so the toll held fairly steady instead of rising or falling. The figures come from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the federal count of crashes on public roads in which someone died within 30 days. For 2024 it uses NHTSA's Annual Report File, the first release of that year's data, which may be revised.

No Iowa city or town had more traffic deaths in these records. The city's 104 lead the 111 Iowa places with fatal crashes, ahead of Davenport (55), Cedar Rapids (41), Sioux City (30) and Waterloo (27). Des Moines also carries most of its county's toll: Polk County recorded 181 fatal crashes and 202 deaths, and 51 percent of those crashes were inside the city. Measured against Iowa's 1,770 deaths statewide, the city's share is 6 percent.

US-69 tops the roads table above with 12 fatal crashes and 12 deaths, the latest in 2023. I-235 is second with 7 crashes and 7 deaths, also through 2023, and University Ave (US-163) third with 5 crashes and 6 deaths, the latest in 2024. Three roads had 4 fatal crashes each: 2nd Ave, Grand Ave and Hubbell Ave (US-6). Army Post Rd, Hickman Rd, Indianola Ave and US-6 (street name not recorded) had 3 each.

Between them, the ten roads account for 48 of the city's 93 fatal crashes and 49 of its 104 deaths, which leaves 45 crashes spread over roads not in the table. Seven of the ten rows had a fatal crash as recently as 2024. A road's count tells where fatal crashes were recorded; it says nothing about their causes or about fault in any single crash.

Intersections stand out in Des Moines. Forty-eight of the 93 fatal crashes, more than half, happened at an intersection or on an approach to one: 33 in the intersection itself and 15 related to it. Another 40 were coded as non-junction, away from any intersection, interchange, ramp or driveway. Angle crashes, where one vehicle strikes the side of another, numbered 34, far more than the 6 head-on and 5 rear-end collisions. At intersections, claims usually turn on who had the right of way, so signal timing and nearby camera footage matter.

FARS codes 46 crashes as after dark, 45 of them on roads with street lighting, and 41 in daylight; 3 happened at dawn and 3 at dusk. The evening was the deadliest stretch, with 35 crashes between 6 p.m. and midnight, followed by 25 between noon and 6 p.m. and 21 between midnight and 6 a.m. Sunday had the most fatal crashes, 19, and Saturday the next most, 15, so 34 of the 93 fell on a weekend day. Tuesday had the fewest, 9.

In 46 crashes the first harmful event was a collision with another vehicle in transport, which in FARS includes a vehicle stopped in the roadway as well as a moving one, and in 16 it was a pedestrian. A fixed object came first in 25, most often a curb (12) or a tree (7), and 3 began with a rollover. Clear weather was recorded for 74 crashes and cloudy skies for 10, while snow, rain, and fog, smog or smoke were recorded 3 times each. Three crashes were in work zones. Forty-four involved a single vehicle, 40 involved two and 9 involved three or more.

Motorcyclists are a large part of the Des Moines toll. Of the 104 people killed, 35 were on a motorcycle or moped, more than a third. Counted by role, 65 of the dead were drivers and 20 passengers, and those 85 vehicle occupants include the motorcycle and moped riders. The other 19 were outside a vehicle: 18 pedestrians and 1 bicyclist. By crash, 19 of the 93, or 20 percent, involved a pedestrian, cyclist or other person outside a vehicle.

A motorcycle crash raises its own claim questions. Riders are often badly hurt, and insurers commonly argue about speed, lane position and visibility, especially when a car turned or pulled out across the rider's path. A pedestrian struck by a car claims against the driver's liability insurance, and that claim often turns on where the person was crossing and the lighting.

Take a hypothetical Des Moines case with simplified numbers. A motorcyclist rides through an intersection when a driver turning left crosses his path, an angle crash. He has $70,000 in medical bills and $10,000 in lost wages, and a jury puts his pain and suffering at $20,000, so his damages total $100,000. The driver's insurer accepts that the driver turned across his path but argues the rider was speeding and should carry 40 percent of the fault.

Iowa's rule is modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. The rider's award is reduced by his share of fault, and he loses it entirely only if that share is more than 50 percent. At 40 percent, $100,000 becomes $60,000; at 60 percent, he would get nothing. Camera footage, skid marks, the motorcycle's damage and witness accounts of his speed can move that percentage, which is why preserving them early matters.

Iowa is an at-fault state, so the rider's first claim is against the driver's liability policy. Iowa's minimum, 20/40/15, stands for thousands of dollars: $20,000 for each injured person, $40,000 for all injuries in one crash and $15,000 for damaged property. A minimum policy would pay him $20,000 of the $60,000, leaving $40,000 unpaid. His own underinsured motorist coverage, if he carries it, or another party who shares responsibility might cover some of the rest, depending on the policies and the facts.

Iowa's reporting duty is immediate. Under Iowa Code § 321.266, the driver in a crash that injures or kills anyone must notify the county sheriff, the nearest State Patrol office or another peace officer nearby immediately. If no law enforcement agency investigates a crash with injury, death or apparent total property damage of $1,500 or more, the driver must send a written report to the Iowa Department of Transportation within 72 hours, on the Iowa Accident Report Form (433002). The steps below cover the evidence.

• Call 911 if anyone is hurt, and ask which agency will write the report so you can request it later.
• At an intersection, photograph the signals, signs, lane markings and sight lines; 48 of the 93 fatal crashes in Des Moines were at one or on an approach to one, and right of way usually decides fault.
• If a motorcycle was involved, keep the helmet, riding gear and damaged parts; they can show speed and the point of impact.
• Start medical treatment right away and keep each bill and visit note; insurers point to gaps in care to argue an injury was minor.
• Request a copy of the officer's crash report through the Iowa DOT's driving records and accident reports service.

The Polk County District Court is where a lawsuit over a Des Moines crash would usually go, since the city is in Polk County. Some cases are filed in another county or in federal court instead, and an attorney can tell which applies. Iowa Code § 614.1(2) generally gives an injured person two years from the date of injury to sue; that limit is called the statute of limitations, and a case filed after it has passed will generally be dismissed. Most injury claims settle with an insurer before any trial, yet the two-year date still controls how long talks can safely run.

A few claims follow different rules. A wrongful death claim brought on behalf of a family has requirements of its own, and a claim against a city, county or state agency may follow separate rules and deadlines; an attorney can confirm both. If the crash happened on the job, Iowa Code § 85.23 requires telling the employer within 90 days of when you knew or should have known the injury was work-related, and a workers' compensation claim has a two-year deadline, handled through the Iowa Division of Workers' Compensation.

The rider in the Des Moines example keeps $60,000 because Iowa reduces an award by the injured person's share of fault and cuts it off only above 50 percent. In Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina or Virginia, which still follow contributory negligence, a finding that he was even slightly at fault could bar him from recovering anything. A state with pure comparative negligence would also reduce his award by 40 percent, but it would keep paying a reduced amount past 50 percent, where Iowa's bar stops recovery: at 60 percent fault he would still collect $40,000.

Iowa's insurance system is at-fault, so an injured person's losses are claimed mainly from the liability coverage of the driver who caused the crash. No-fault states work differently: in Florida, Michigan, New York and New Jersey, for example, an injured person's own policy generally pays certain losses first, such as medical bills, regardless of who caused the crash. Time limits shift across state lines too. Iowa's general limit is two years, while Tennessee allows one year for most injury claims, half as long.

Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, meaning their fee is a percentage of any recovery; ask how costs are handled before signing. Ask Legal Matters is a personal injury lead-generation service that collects free case review requests from injured people in the United States and shares them with independent attorneys and law firms. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in Iowa, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say whether a claim exists. If you were hurt in a crash in Des Moines, you can request a free case review.

• Which U.S. cities had the most fatal car accidents in 2023?
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• How do you file a car accident insurance claim?
• What is the average car accident settlement?

More on this type of claim: Car accidents: evidence, deadlines and when to ask an attorney.

• Des Moines, Iowa: local injury guide, court and deadlines
• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• Motorcycle Accident Claims: Overcoming Rider Bias and Recovering Fully

Need local rules? Choose your state from the injury law guides hub or read the statute of limitations by state.