Car accident: This is gonna be interesting

[P&R Fan]

My 16 year old daughter was driving my '97 Ford Crown Vic back from church on Sunday. Had a green light and started through the intersection. Somebody blew the light and smashed into the left rear quarter, just behind the wheel. Driver sped off. Another guy stopped and told her it was NOT her fault. Unfortunately she didn't get his name or a plate on the car that hit her. Fortunately she was unhurt.
I filed a police report. The cop came out, questioned her and looked at the damage. Said he was going back to his car to check if the other driver had reported it. I laughed and told him fat chance on that. Turns out the other driver did report it. I had to wait 4 days to talk to the cop who took their report. Turns out he saw the damage on the front of their vehicle. He told us they reported my daughter hit them and took off. I asked the cop how she could have hit them in the front of their vehicle with the BACK of hers. Only way that could happen is if she ran the light, which she didn't.
I have insurance that will cover this. It's almost Four Grand in damage. But I want the name of the other driver, which the cop will not give me until he talks to them. Their insurace is responsible for the damage.
When I get the name I'm gonna call them, and record the call, which is legal in Iowa.

This is stupid.
Jim

 

[gunnails]

Relax, stuff happens...


Just let the insurance CO handle it and save your aggravation for something more important then an old car and some scammer.

Glad your girl is OK.

 

[gunnails]

When I say insurance CO I mean yours, you pay them well and they have a dog in this fight.

 

[P&R Fan]

I also have a $500 deductible.
It's their fault. I'm gonna hold them responsible.
Jim

 

[perrazi]

if you have any friends in the local body shops, bet they can tell who it was.

 

[gunnails]

I also have a $500 deductible.
It's their fault. I'm gonna hold them responsible.
Jim

=============================

I would too hold them responsible, your INS CO doesn't want to take responsibility for his mistake either, I am sure they will do there best to make sure he pays for any damages.

 

[Faulkner]

When I say insurance CO I mean yours, you pay them well and they have a dog in this fight.

Unless the other vehicle owner has the same insurance carrier that you have, then they won't really care who's at fault. They have to pay either way.

 

[JJEH]

Check if the intersection has a camera?! Or the surrounding buildings.
Also, check youtube. Perhaps a nerd caught it on his/her cell and uploaded it already...

 

[redneckemt]

Go see a Judge swear out a warrent for leaving the scene of an accident. Hit and Run.

Hard for insurance to refuse to pay when the driver is sitting in jail.

May not hurt to run an ad in the paper looking for witnesses.

Sent from my PantechP8000 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bgrone]

Exchange of information

You and your insurance carrier are entitled to the other driver's information. I would press your insurance to subrogate against the other party to recover your deductible.


Jim in Iowa

 

[P&R Fan]

Right now the big holdup is the police officer who took the statement of the other driver. So far he has not identified them. He wants to talk to the officer who took my daughters report.
All I want is a name. I can get their address easily enough, and a phone number too.
Seems like this is a pretty simple process.
Jim

 

[policerevolvercollector]

I'll bet that the police are still trying to figure out who was actaully driving the other car. Your daughter should be fine because she stopped and reported the wreck where it actually happened.

The other guy had to go home or wherever and convince someone else ( maybe even the real owner if it's not his) to call the PD and claim it was a hit and run. It probably got kinda loud at their house when 1)the other car's owner figured out "buddy" had crashed the car or 2) "buddy" told his wife etc. to cover for him crashing the family ride.
Then they decided to concoct a story in order to get their damage fixed. After all, "buddy" can't report it himself because of the suspended license , DUI and or active warrant problem that would rear its' ugly head if the police started asking questions. Allegiances crumble when the PD starts talking about charging this "victim" with a crime because the officers really don't believe the lie anyway. The finger pointing will begin in earnest. The smoke will clear and the real driver will be left holding the bag when the other people he enlisted to help him come to the realization that they don't want to go to jail for him.

Just GUESSING mind you. But, this is probably pretty close.

 

[Nightowl]

Number one, next time be sure to report the accident from the place it happened. Best not to move the care until the police arrive or unless instructed to do so by dispatcher. Too bad she did not get the name of the witness.
At this point, hopefully the officers will get together and conduct a thorough investingation and figure out what happened. Contact your insurance company and have them handle it. They know how to handle this. They will get the reports and you should be able to do so too.
Do not sign off on any releases until you are real sure your daughter was not injured. Sometimes there are injuries that take awhile to be known. Try to be patient, it sometimes takes awhile for all these things to work themselves out.

 

[olcop]

Hire a laywer, that will get everyone's attention quick---the fact that the other guy hit and ran can't do his case any good.
olcop

 

[Muss Muggins]

I'm wondering which insurance company is going to pay almost 4 grand to fix a 17 year old car? If it's the same as mine, I need to find a new insurance company. My guess is that even when the other driver is found totally at fault, you're getting a check for about $1,500, and the insurance company is going to want the title.

 

[bhayles]

$4000 damage to your car and the other guiy didn't notice his damage until he/she got home? Yeah...right.

First, as someone else said, a good body shop guy can probably tell you most of what happened. You'd be amazed what he can tell about an accident. If he's really really good he can probably tell you what color the other driver's underwear is.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Over the years I have found that when I do something stupid or something I regret the common thread is that it was done while I was pissed off. Let the process play out. Cops are pretty smart by and large. So are insurance companies. Wait until the cops compare notes and then see what happens. If you're still not satisfied, then come see me. At least that is what I would tell someone if they called me with your problem.
Oh and BTW and FWIW I have had instances in the past where my client's 16 year old daughters were not entirely forthright with their initial communications with their fathers

 

[bhayles]

Oh and BTW and FWIW I have had instances in the past where my client's 16 year old daughters were not entirely forthright with their initial communications with their fathers

Really? No!!!

 

[Mcwsky09]

My step daughter was rear ended in rush hour traffic one morning - the gal that hit her got out and looked at the minimal damage - can't recall if they exchange info but must have because although the other person said at the scene - it's not that bad, not need to file a police report - she did just that when she got home - perhaps under instruction by a family member or her insurance company. Actually, it is coming back to me now - at the scene she said "It was my fault, no need for police report, lets exchange info" (or words to that effect) and then when she called her insurance company she claimed it was NOT her fault.
Don't recall how it turned out but as far a I understand Ohio law - if you rear end someone it is your fault because you failed to maintain a minimum assured clear distance. There may be exceptions if someone cuts across three lanes directly in front of you for example.

 

[quneur]

Its very important to get the witness name and address. I was in an accident once. I was stopped on the road waiting for an opening from opposing traffic to turn into another road. The car behind me wasn't paying attention and rear ended me. He was actually quite a distance but the car behind him stopped and gave his name as a witness. Came to find out, they were related. The witness was purposely following him.

I would be up the creek if not for an on-comming truck driver stopping and also submitting his name for a witness.

Some of the stuff people pull are throughly disgusting. I knew a lady who was cut-off by a large semi on the freeway. The semi didn't fit and took out her driver side front quarter panel and door. They pulled over where there were freeway construction workers were working. The semi driver was talking to a worker as the police arrived. The witness, the worker, sided with the semi driver. She ended up being responsible for everything.

I mean, how many people actually drive into a semi-truck? The location of the damage would mean she would have had to purposely drive into it or she was trying to run the semi off the road in her sedan.