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  #1  
Old 04-30-2005, 06:23 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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Angry no good deed goes unpunished

So... last night I'm on the freeway on my way home when I see a car pass me on the right (it was in the slow lane) traveling .... and this is no exaggeration... **at least** 100 mph. I start slowing down figuring an accident is imminent.

Sure enough, this 'low-altitude aircraft' loses control while attempting to brake, spins out, hits the guard rail on the right shoulder protecting the overpass over the street below, and comes to rest stradling both my lane and the slow lane. I put my hazard lights on and slow along with the rest of traffic, coming to a stop behind the now-disabled vehicle and called 911 from my cell phone. When it was clear, I then pulled over to the shoulder, parked, and waited in my car for the CHP to arrive, intending to offer my information as a witness and to be sure the driver of the other car was not injured or worse.

While I'm sitting in my car... with my hazard lights still going... another car traveling too fast to avoid anything ends up colliding with my parked car (its right front corner hit my left front wheel and surrounding body panels), causing this other vehicle to spin out, coming to rest on the shoulder facing me. The car then pulls a u-turn from the shoulder and flees the scene!

Here's where the story gets really funny.

The hit-and-run vehicle that collided with my car ended up leaving behind a souvenir for me and the CHP: its license plate including license plate frame! The CHP traced the plate and paid a visit to the owner's residence, finding the vehicle with a missing license plate and fresh damage including some nice "winning blue metallic" paint transfers that suspiciously match the color of my car!

The woman who hit and ran was reportedly very apologetic to the CHP and admitted that she was in the vicinity of where the accident took place, that she spun out, and that she hit "something," but gave some b.s. excuse about thinking that she had only hit a wall or guard rail or something and not another vehicle ("otherwise [she] would have stopped"). The cops decided not to press charges against her for hit and run, believing she had no criminal or otherwise malicious intent.

It's amazing how a brand new (8 months and 2 days old), bright blue car with flashing hazard lights could be mistaken for a wall or guard rail. So now I get to wait for the police report to get any of her information. Meanwhile, my car got towed due to an impact involving one of the wheels.

Getting passed by the batmobile doing 100+ mph: $0
Having your car taken to a tow yard: $30 (per day, storage)
Having to get a rental car: $250 (deposit)
Getting your car repaired: $500 (deductible)
Having to wait for any further information: 2-3 weeks
Becoming a victim of a hit-and-run collision while trying to be a "Good Samaritan" and be a witness for another accident: Priceless!
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  #2  
Old 04-30-2005, 07:17 PM
navane navane is offline
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Re: no good deed goes unpunished

Quote:
Originally posted by SAEalumnus

The woman who hit and ran was reportedly very apologetic to the CHP and admitted that she was in the vicinity of where the accident took place, that she spun out, and that she hit "something," but gave some b.s. excuse about thinking that she had only hit a wall or guard rail or something and not another vehicle ("otherwise [she] would have stopped"). The cops decided not to press charges against her for hit and run, believing she had no criminal or otherwise malicious intent.

You've got to be joking, right? How does someone not know they hit a CAR??? I mean she had to have seen it given that she was minus three inches away from it.

Can she still be held responsible?

......Kelly
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  #3  
Old 04-30-2005, 07:37 PM
BetteDavisEyes BetteDavisEyes is offline
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I am so sorry that had to happen to you. At least you're allright. I can only hope this moron of a lady stays off the road b/c she is apparently a hazard to drivers everywhere.

Have you thought about filing suit against her? I know people complain about people suing for the dumbest things & I don't know if it will accomplish anything but it's just a thought.

I hope everything goes well though. Keep us posted.
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  #4  
Old 04-30-2005, 08:45 PM
Private I Private I is offline
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sue her. I have no patience for asshole drivers. My grandfather once scratched someone's car and they sued him for 7000 dollars cos of "trauma." Since he was so worried about how this would affect his attempts towards citizenship, he agreed to it and is still paying it off.
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  #5  
Old 04-30-2005, 09:00 PM
sageofages sageofages is offline
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Re: no good deed goes unpunished

Quote:
Originally posted by SAEalumnus
So... last night I'm on the freeway on my way home when I see a car pass me on the right (it was in the slow lane) traveling .... and this is no exaggeration... **at least** 100 mph. I start slowing down figuring an accident is imminent.

Sure enough, this 'low-altitude aircraft' loses control while attempting to brake, spins out, hits the guard rail on the right shoulder protecting the overpass over the street below, and comes to rest stradling both my lane and the slow lane. I put my hazard lights on and slow along with the rest of traffic, coming to a stop behind the now-disabled vehicle and called 911 from my cell phone. When it was clear, I then pulled over to the shoulder, parked, and waited in my car for the CHP to arrive, intending to offer my information as a witness and to be sure the driver of the other car was not injured or worse.

While I'm sitting in my car... with my hazard lights still going... another car traveling too fast to avoid anything ends up colliding with my parked car (its right front corner hit my left front wheel and surrounding body panels), causing this other vehicle to spin out, coming to rest on the shoulder facing me. The car then pulls a u-turn from the shoulder and flees the scene!

Here's where the story gets really funny.

The hit-and-run vehicle that collided with my car ended up leaving behind a souvenir for me and the CHP: its license plate including license plate frame! The CHP traced the plate and paid a visit to the owner's residence, finding the vehicle with a missing license plate and fresh damage including some nice "winning blue metallic" paint transfers that suspiciously match the color of my car!

The woman who hit and ran was reportedly very apologetic to the CHP and admitted that she was in the vicinity of where the accident took place, that she spun out, and that she hit "something," but gave some b.s. excuse about thinking that she had only hit a wall or guard rail or something and not another vehicle ("otherwise [she] would have stopped"). The cops decided not to press charges against her for hit and run, believing she had no criminal or otherwise malicious intent.

It's amazing how a brand new (8 months and 2 days old), bright blue car with flashing hazard lights could be mistaken for a wall or guard rail. So now I get to wait for the police report to get any of her information. Meanwhile, my car got towed due to an impact involving one of the wheels.

Getting passed by the batmobile doing 100+ mph: $0
Having your car taken to a tow yard: $30 (per day, storage)
Having to get a rental car: $250 (deposit)
Getting your car repaired: $500 (deductible)
Having to wait for any further information: 2-3 weeks
Becoming a victim of a hit-and-run collision while trying to be a "Good Samaritan" and be a witness for another accident: Priceless!
Ok ok...How long after the accident did they get to her? Makes me think she was OWI or something. When I was in HS in Redlands, CA in 1976-1977, a girl who was in my "crowd" was hit by a guy in a van as she was walking along side the road. The guy left the scene. He was lit at the time he hit her ;(. When the police caught up with him, he said he thought he "hit a palm tree" so he didn't stop. Yes he was prosecuted & convicted.

On top of it, even in a mild rear impact collision I was pretty shaken up and had really sore muscles and bruises, but I didn't feel a thing until the next day or so. I was stiff for a week or ten days and had to curtail activities ;(.

Talk to the prosecutor's office yourself, and if no satisfaction, get a lawyer and persue civil remedies.
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  #6  
Old 04-30-2005, 11:12 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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At the actual scene of the accident, one's ability to accurately measure elapsed time between events tends to be limited. I've since had the chance to review the time-stamps on the outgoing and incoming calls from my cell phone's call log:

11:34:02pm - I called 911 about the original accident
12:06:03am - I called my parents' house to arrange a ride later
12:58:17am - A CHP officer called following his visit with the other driver.

It actually took about a half hour for the CHP to arrive because my call to my folk's house took place shortly after she hit me and took off. I didn't bother calling 911 again because the CHP were already on their way anyway. So the cops interviewed the woman less than an hour after she'd hit and ran.

I've decided for the moment that what, if any, civil action I take will depend entirely on how cooperative she and her insurance company are willing to be. Since I happen to be a claims adjuster by profession, I already know all the rules, regulations, and time frames required for California's "Fair Claims Settlement Practices." I'd rather not have to go to court over this, but would have no problem doing so if required. As it turns out, my dad is also a claims adjuster (different company), so between the two of us, we've got access to a rather large selection of attorneys and experts.

I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt and forgive her (however undeserving of it she plainly is), but before I can bring myself to do so, she's going to need to make a genuine act of contrition by cooperating fully and not trying to change or story, delay the process, or any other nonsense. It's up to her, really.
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  #7  
Old 05-01-2005, 12:16 AM
mmcat mmcat is offline
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thank god, you are OK.
the rest of it sounds a bit sad. if you can, go after her.
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  #8  
Old 05-01-2005, 10:01 AM
aephi alum aephi alum is offline
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I'm glad you're ok. I hope the driver of the original "low-flying aircraft" at least showed you some gratitude!

I've been the victim of a hit-and-run myself. She rear-ended me on the interstate, I pulled over, she didn't. But, I got her tag # and called 911, and the cops were able to find her. According to the police report, she knew she'd hit my car, but she kept going because she "didn't think the other driver had stopped". She was ticketed, and my insurance company was able to get most of my deductible out of her company. (And I'm sure her insurance rates went up for her at-fault accident and fleeing the scene... bwahaha).

I hope that your car isn't out of commission for too long and that you can recover at least some of your expenses. The most important thing is that nobody was killed or injured.
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  #9  
Old 05-01-2005, 11:37 AM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
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Thumbs down

Well, so much for the CHP being one of the finest Law Enforcement Agencys in the USA!

I would be livid to say the least!

They damn sure dropped the ball on this one.

Bent metal can be repaired, a bent body cant.

Thank goodness you are okay!

This brings to mind an incident in KC. Guys Van stopped on a bridge, He hit flashers, got out and was walking for help.

Got killed by a driver who swearved around his van and then hit and killed him.
Mo HP said should have stayed in His Van. Well, then probasly would have hit his van and killed him anyway.

Have seen cars run into the back of a bus with all kinds of flashing lights and didnt see them, DA!
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  #10  
Old 05-01-2005, 01:07 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tom Earp
This brings to mind an incident in KC. Guys Van stopped on a bridge, He hit flashers, got out and was walking for help.

Got killed by a driver who swearved around his van and then hit and killed him.
Mo HP said should have stayed in His Van. Well, then probasly would have hit his van and killed him anyway.
This is exactly why I stayed in my car until the CHP arrived. Considering this woman hit my car just forward of the driver door, what do you suppose would have happened if I had been exiting my vehicle or otherwise standing alongside it at the time?
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  #11  
Old 05-01-2005, 01:31 PM
preciousjeni preciousjeni is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by SAEalumnus
This is exactly why I stayed in my car until the CHP arrived. Considering this woman hit my car just forward of the driver door, what do you suppose would have happened if I had been exiting my vehicle or otherwise standing alongside it at the time?
I'm glad that you're ok and pleased to see that your wisdom saved your life!
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  #12  
Old 05-01-2005, 01:51 PM
astroAPhi astroAPhi is offline
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I'm glad you're safe. Unfortunately, the situations you guys have described about people getting hit when they stop to help happen pretty often, and make me way too scared to stop and help someone. I just don't want to get killed for helping someone.
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  #13  
Old 05-01-2005, 02:32 PM
KillarneyRose KillarneyRose is offline
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Were these the CHP officers who arrived at the accident scene??? (Sorry, all these years later I still think of Ponch and Jon when I hear CHP )


Anyhoo...

The woman who hit your car probably got down on her knees to plead her case with the nice policeman who visited her at home.

I wish at least the police had gotten her insurance information for you so that you could get started on having your car fixed.
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Last edited by KillarneyRose; 05-01-2005 at 02:35 PM.
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  #14  
Old 05-01-2005, 03:17 PM
WhiteDaisy128 WhiteDaisy128 is offline
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I'm sorry this happened. That sucks. My car is "winning blue" too :-) Hopefully you'll get it all fixed up.
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  #15  
Old 05-01-2005, 05:01 PM
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honeychile honeychile is offline
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Yikes!!! At least you're okay!!

But I agree with those who said they'd take civil action - depending on how old this woman is, she may be too disabled to have a current driver's license!
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