Central Iowa authorities are looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a bicyclist on Sunday morning southwest of Des Moines near the town of Cumming. The victim is identified as 54-year-old Mark Grgurich of Des Moines. Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy Neil Gurwell talked with the witnesses who say the driver of the white pickup truck hit the cyclist and kept going.
Deputy Gurwell says it’s unclear what sort of pickup it was, Chevy, Dodge or Ford, but it had a black ladder rack in the back. There was also some sort of placard on the passenger door that was damaged in the collision. "I’m guessing it’s some type of business sign that’s made out of white plastic and it was bolted to the door," he says. "We’ve got a piece of it but really not enough to make an identification on the company name."
Gurwell says they’ll be checking with body shops to see if anyone’s trying to get their pickup repaired. "It’s going to have some obvious damage to the front quarter-panel and probably down the door," Gurwell says. "If they see this type of a white logo, it’d be plastic, bolted to the door, give us a call at the sheriff’s office."
The accident happened about 10:50 Sunday morning on Warren County Road G-14, not far from the Great Western Trail, a popular bike path that goes from Des Moines to Martensdale. Gurwell says the witnesses thought the truck was speeding and evidence at the scene backs that up.
"The driver of the pickup was traveling in excess of the 45 mile-an-hour speed limit which is in the area," Gurwell says. "The bicyclist was next to the bicycle. I’m guessing, from my initial investigation, both the bike and the cyclist were thrown about 60 feet." Both the bike and the truck were eastbound on the hilly county road and Gurwell says the truck hit the bike from behind and continued east. Contact the sheriff’s office at (515) 961-1122.