An overnight hit-and-run crash in Des Moines left a woman dead, and police say a suspect has now been identified and charged following an intensive investigation that combined traditional police work with modern surveillance technology.According to the Des Moines Police Department, officers and medics were called to the 1000 block of East Railroad Avenue shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday on reports of a pedestrian struck in the roadway.When emergency crews arrived, they found an adult woman dead at the scene. Police said the driver involved in the crash fled before officers arrived.Investigators with the department’s Traffic Unit immediately began working to identify the vehicle and driver responsible. Authorities said leads generated from local business surveillance cameras, residential security footage and city traffic cameras helped narrow the search to the Easter Lake area neighborhood on the city’s south side.Detectives then canvassed the neighborhood and, shortly before 2 p.m., located the suspected vehicle at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of King Avenue.Further investigation led police to identify 28-year-old Ludvin Zuniga Sarceno as the alleged driver of the vehicle that struck and killed the pedestrian.Sarceno has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a Class D felony. He also faces simple misdemeanor charges for no valid driver’s license and no proof of insurance.The Des Moines Police Department said the Traffic Unit’s technical investigation into the crash remains ongoing. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
An overnight hit-and-run crash in Des Moines left a woman dead, and police say a suspect has now been identified and charged following an intensive investigation that combined traditional police work with modern surveillance technology.
According to the Des Moines Police Department, officers and medics were called to the 1000 block of East Railroad Avenue shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday on reports of a pedestrian struck in the roadway.
When emergency crews arrived, they found an adult woman dead at the scene. Police said the driver involved in the crash fled before officers arrived.
Investigators with the department’s Traffic Unit immediately began working to identify the vehicle and driver responsible. Authorities said leads generated from local business surveillance cameras, residential security footage and city traffic cameras helped narrow the search to the Easter Lake area neighborhood on the city’s south side.
Detectives then canvassed the neighborhood and, shortly before 2 p.m., located the suspected vehicle at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of King Avenue.
Further investigation led police to identify 28-year-old Ludvin Zuniga Sarceno as the alleged driver of the vehicle that struck and killed the pedestrian.
Sarceno has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a Class D felony. He also faces simple misdemeanor charges for no valid driver’s license and no proof of insurance.
The Des Moines Police Department said the Traffic Unit’s technical investigation into the crash remains ongoing. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
