Iowa City police looking for driver who left scene of multi-vehicle crash

Stephen Gruber-Miller | Press Citizen

Iowa City police are looking for a driver who left the scene of a four-vehicle crash at the intersection of Mormon Trek Boulevard and South Riverside Drive on Monday morning.

Police first received a call about a crash just before 8:30 a.m. involving three vehicles at the intersection of Mormon Trek and Highway 1, Officer Steve Fortmann said.

Two of the vehicles involved in that crash — a silver Kia and a Chrysler PT Cruiser — then drove east on Mormon Trek, Fortmann said.

Less than three minutes after the first crash, the Kia ran a red light at the intersection of Mormon Trek and Riverside and was hit by someone driving north on Riverside, causing the Kia to collide with a third car, a red Volkswagen, and causing it to land on top of a fourth car, Fortmann said.

No one was seriously injured in the crash, Fortmann said. One person may have been transported to the hospital, but he said he believes that was for an existing medical condition rather than injuries from the collision.

The Kia's driver and passengers then got out of the car, pushed it off the fourth vehicle, got into the PT Cruiser and fled the scene, Fortmann said.

In all, three people left the scene, Fortmann said: the male driver and two women. Fortmann could not offer a detailed description of the three people.

The driver of the Kia will likely face charges of leaving the scene, Fortmann said. Whether other charges are filed could depend on what police find out about the circumstances and cause of the two crashes.

Fortmann said he believes the drivers of the Kia and PT Cruiser know each other, but police are not sure at this point what caused the situation.

"Whether they were drag racing or it's some sort of assault situation or road rage situation, depends on what we find out," he said.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him on Twitter: @sgrubermiller.