DES MOINES — An Iowa man has been charged after police say a pedestrian was struck and killed in an overnight hit-and-run, with investigators using both neighborhood footwork and surveillance footage to track down the suspected vehicle.
According to Des Moines police, investigators with the department’s Traffic Unit began searching for the driver shortly after the pedestrian was killed around 2:00 AM Sunday in the 1000 block of East Railroad Avenue, on the city’s south side.
Emergency crews found an adult woman dead at the scene, according to Des Moines police information reported by KCCI. The driver had fled before officers arrived.
Police said leads from local business cameras, residential cameras and city traffic cameras helped narrow the search for the vehicle to the Easter Lake area neighborhood. Investigators then began canvassing the area the old-fashioned way, going through the neighborhood until they found the suspected vehicle shortly before 2:00 PM at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of King Avenue.
Further investigation found evidence indicating that 28-year-old Ludvin Zuniga Sarceno (pictured at top) had been driving the vehicle that struck and killed the pedestrian, police said.
Sarceno has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a Class D felony. He also faces misdemeanor license and insurance-related offenses.
Police described the case as a combination of “classic police-work” and modern technology, noting that cameras helped point investigators in the right direction, but officers still had to canvass the neighborhood and locate the vehicle.
The fatal crash remains under investigation.
The case is another deadly reminder of the severe legal consequences drivers can face when they flee a crash scene. In Iowa, leaving the scene of a crash that results in death can bring a felony charge, in addition to any other traffic or criminal allegations that may apply.
According to the Iowa DOT’s July 9 update, 145 people had died on Iowa roads so far in 2026. The DOT says recent fatality numbers are preliminary and can change as investigations are completed.
Sarceno remains jailed at this time, and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.