Hit and Run (Do I have a play?) Lengthy...

Background--I work for an insurance company and part of my job entails visiting clients at their place of business or their homes to help them with claims or determine their eligibility for claims. My company deals with all types and backgrounds of people from the very rich to lower income markets as well. This may or may not be important, but this happened in a lower income neighborhood.

I had just spent a good part of 2 hours with a client at her house. I had determined that most likely we would pay her claim. She came outside with me while I was leaving (in the South this is common). I got into my car, I was in my personal car, not the company car as I was planning on making it an early day and head straight to the golf course.

About 30 yards up the road from her house is an intersection(not a major one, a residential intersection with the street crossing mine having stop signs). I had no stop sign, so I eased through the intersection. Immediately I heard screeching tires and was slammed into by a car that was probably moving about 50 MPH and had burned through the stop sign. The impact was on my front right panel, almost directly into that tire.

I gathered my senses for a moment, realized I wasnt hurt, and unclicked my seat belt and got out of the car. When I get out of the car, I look and see the driver of the car that hit me put it in reverse and start driving in reverse back down the road she came from (yes, it was a female). I realized what she was doing and started running after her. I soon realized I wasnt going to catch her, spotted a battery on the road (like a flashlight battery) and hucked it at the car. I missed of course, and the car reached the next intersection down, and turned down it and took off.

I walk back to my car and pull out my cell phone to call the police. I notice my client still standing outside watching and instead of her checking to see if I was hurt or coming over, she yells at her kid "Get in da house" and she goes inside.

The policeman comes and I tell him my story, he gets on his radio and relays it. I call my lawyer and then my insurance company.

20 minutes later Im waiting for a tow truck and here comes the lady that hits me in her car. She gets out and I see that shes like 16 years old. The police officer cites her for Failure to stop or yield or whatever it was, but doesnt cite her for the hit and run or for obviously traveling way too fast in a residential area. I get livid and the cop tells me to calm down. How can he decide that hes only going to cite her for that???

Conclusion--
A court date is arranged to decide fault for the case. I know its open and shut, and Im told by my lawyer that I dont have to go to court but I decide to go. The night before the court hearing, the mother of the 16 year old calls my home phone and leaves a message that she had asked the court date to be changed and it had been moved to a future date. I didnt call her back because I figured they would let me know if it had been changed. I never heard anything so I went to court the next day and sure enough they called our case. The judge asked her how she pleaded. She quickly said "Not guilty". She then proceeded to say I had hit her after she had stopped for "Like 3 minutes". My jaw hit the floor. The judge let me speak and I told him that it would be nearly impossible for me to hit her with my right front tire, and that her story was a fairy tale. The judge found in favor of me. Side Note--The police officer did not show for the hearing either, I thought they had to but he wasnt there, so if I didnt go there would have been noone to rectify this situation. I dont think the mother would have called a police officer and told him the date had been changed if it hadn't.

Does it seem weird that the police officer didnt show? Should I push the issue with her mom calling me telling me the date had been changed? I feel like going after them. Have I done all i can do? I feel like after all this, for them only to get hit with that one citation and their insurance having to pay, that there should be a stronger punishment. Ive saved the message from the mother. OOT, what would you do?


MDoranD

[thatpfunk]

I think you should definetly go after them.

[Edge34]

Slash her tires.

[daryn]

[ QUOTE ]
Slash her tires.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are stupid

[Edge34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Slash her tires.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are stupid

[/ QUOTE ]

I was kidding, tool. You seriously need to lighten the [censored] up sometimes.

How about this, since you're so [censored] uppity...the guy's already gone through court, there doesn't seem to be much else he can do. Move on with life and hope she gets what's coming to her.

Jesus.

[JonPKibble]

Show the message to the judge. I think that will definitely add to your case.

[daryn]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Slash her tires.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are stupid

[/ QUOTE ]

I was kidding, tool. You seriously need to lighten the [censored] up sometimes.



[/ QUOTE ]

my statement goes unchanged

[Edge34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Slash her tires.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are stupid

[/ QUOTE ]

I was kidding, tool. You seriously need to lighten the [censored] up sometimes.



[/ QUOTE ]

my statement goes unchanged

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I guess in that case, [censored], maybe I am stupid. After all, DARYN says so. And of course, you're something special around here. Bite me.

[swede123]

Obviously the teenager is a moron, but the most scary thing about this entire case is how incredibly poorly it was handled by the cop. I would probably file a report with the officer's supervisor about this. At least you weren't injured.

Swede

[daryn]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Slash her tires.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are stupid

[/ QUOTE ]

I was kidding, tool. You seriously need to lighten the [censored] up sometimes.



[/ QUOTE ]

my statement goes unchanged

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I guess in that case, [censored], maybe I am stupid. After all, DARYN says so. And of course, you're something special around here.

[/ QUOTE ]


hmm.. maybe i was wrong about you

[bosoxfan]

I don't see why the cop would need to show up. He didn't witness the accident. I'm sure they had a copy of his report and even if he was there he most likely would just read from the report to answer any questions directed to him.

[Warik]

[ QUOTE ]
Does it seem weird that the police officer didnt show?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. They get OT pay for going to court.

[ QUOTE ]
Should I push the issue with her mom calling me telling me the date had been changed? I feel like going after them. Have I done all i can do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Talk to your lawyer and find out if there's more you can do. If there is, you definitely should because..........

[ QUOTE ]
I feel like after all this, for them only to get hit with that one citation and their insurance having to pay, that there should be a stronger punishment.

[/ QUOTE ]

........... because you should also be thinking about what's going to happen next time to the poor bastard who DOESN'T ease through the intersection and loses his life instead of his right front panel.

A minor citation and a hike in the insurance that her parent(s) are probably paying for her isn't going to teach her to stop driving recklessly.

If you can do more, do it.

Damn...it sounds like this could have gone either way. Lucky for you, the judge didn't dismiss the case when the cop didn't show. One ex I had called the cops on a stalker messing with her car (in a really sickening way.) The cop showed up before the hearing but left five minutes before the case was heard, case dismissed.

It sounds like the mom tried to trick you into not appearing in court...witness tampering? I'm not a lawyer, just raising the question. Also, I think it's really odd the cop didn't charge this maniac girl with hit and run. That's a big problem here in ABQ because of all the uninsured motorists driving around. That would have been the first thing one of our cops would have done (after administering a FST just because he felt like it.)

Don't know what else you should do...see if you can get some free legal advice I guess.

ScottieK

[jaydub]

[ QUOTE ]
Obviously the teenager is a moron, but the most scary thing about this entire case is how incredibly poorly it was handled by the cop. I would probably file a report with the officer's supervisor about this. At least you weren't injured.

Swede

[/ QUOTE ]

No, cops have too much power and are spiteful [censored].

I would do nothing. It's not worth a phony civil suit.

[mmbt0ne]

[ QUOTE ]
It sounds like the mom tried to trick you into not appearing in court...witness tampering? I'm not a lawyer, just raising the question.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is pretty much exactly what I was thinking.

Also, sorry that this was handled so bush league, but at least you're getting your repairs paid for.

[Iconoclastic]

If he is a Seinfeld fan, perhaps the judge should sentence the woman to be your butler.

[mslif]

If the cop has not been subpoenaed, he does not have to show up. Since he did not witness the accident, there is nothing he could have said that would have helped your case.
Regarding suing the other party, what would you sue them for? Car damages? I am sure the insurance will handle that. I am not sure what you are looking for by suing them.

[Alobar]

why didnt you bring up to the judge that the mom called you and told you the court date had changed???

you WORK for an insurance company, im sure they have lawyers, ask one of them if you can do anything more. I certainly would after the douchery that went on.

I like the bit about throwing the battery tho, reminded me of the part in "Go" where the mafia guys dumb son throws a wrench at the car in the garage, like it was actually going to do something

[Alobar]

you know when you see 2 kids in the store, and one of them is really annoying and bothering the other kid, and the parent tells the one kid to just ignore him and he'll stop? Daryn is kinda like that little annoying kid. Except the little kid is doing it just because hes a kid and thats what kids do, where Daryn does it because hes a troll and a douche.

[Eurotrash]

reading this story made me feel great indignation. if indeed the facts are exactly as you presented them, I would be disappointed if you didn't pursue this further. I don't rly know what you can do, but don't let those fuckers get away with trying to bamboozle you


if all else fails, there's always vigilante justice.

[Beer and Pizza]

We live in a no fault society. If no one was injured, what do you expect? And they don't come down that hard on 16 year olds. Kids often flee, and then their Dad sends them back to the scene - I've had this happen to me. Cops don't want to get too involved, no one was injured. People will take advantage of the court system - low consequences of being caught lying. All in all, your situation was quite common.

As long as you were not held responsible, what business of yours is it that the kid got off easy? Or that the judge or the cop didn't really care all that much about a non-injury accident?

Most of you guys want to live in a society of no consequences, where the alcohol and pot and gambling and sex and anything else you want flows freely. So, don't complain with the typical outcome of such a society. This was typical.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]

Most of you guys want to live in a society of no consequences, where the alcohol and pot and gambling and sex and anything else you want flows freely. So, don't complain with the typical outcome of such a society. This was typical.

[/ QUOTE ]

Children teaching their kids its ok to lie to get out of trouble isnt a product of a society with alcohol, weed, gambling and sex. Thats just the kind of lie your church leader or government official tells you. All of my friends love alchohol weed sex and gambling and we all know right from wrong. all those things can coexist with good morals. What you are talking about is just a product of poor parenting, not a "Degenerate" society.

[vexvelour]

Wow, I would've gone completely apesh1t and told anyone who would listen to me about each detail of this accident.

First of all, I would call the cop's supervisor. Explain to him what happened, and how the cop didn't even cite her for a hit-and-run. Then I would call my lawyer and ask him to get in contact with the judge who ruled on the case about the message she left. Then I'd find her house and bomb the [censored] out of it.

That seriously sucks, man. People like that should be exterminated.

They did look a little surprised when I showed up. When I saw them there, I thought it was weird...No excuse for not telling the judge, I think I just dismissed that whole part till afterwards when I put it together.

You are right though, how amazing it is that the mother was sitting front row, in a courtroom, where her 16 yr old daughter just swore on a bible to tell the whole truth, and then watch her knowing shes going to lie out her a$$.

MDoranD

[DcifrThs]

i find it slightly humorous that you work for an insurance company and got hit by a teenage driver while out investigating a claim.

anyways, that really sux and the mom's handling of the situatin is SOOO [censored] weak.

id talk to your lawyer or your GC of your insurance company (of which im sure there are many) and see if there's something else you can do b/c this needs to be handled much more seriously than it was.

[censored] weak.

Barron

[mslif]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow, I would've gone completely apesh1t and told anyone who would listen to me about each detail of this accident.

First of all, I would call the cop's supervisor. Explain to him what happened, and how the cop didn't even cite her for a hit-and-run. Then I would call my lawyer and ask him to get in contact with the judge who ruled on the case about the message she left. Then I'd find her house and bomb the [censored] out of it.

That seriously sucks, man. People like that should be exterminated.

[/ QUOTE ]

You have to look at state laws before you can make that kind of assumptions regarding the cop's behavior. In some states, it is not the cop's duty to determine who is at fault or not. As I stated previously, he does not HAVE to show up to court unless subpoenaed.
Calling the Judge would be a big mistake (you would not be able to speak to him anyway) but he has rendered his verdict. If you have a problem with it or want to add something, file a motion.

[CORed]

It's probably best that you missed with the battery. You could have been charged with vandalism (and maybe assault, if anybody got hurt) if it had hit and probably would have been liable for any damage to her car. I can understand why you did it; I might have done it too in your situation. It's a good thing you showed up for court. Without the police officer, you would have had no witness, and she might have gotten away with her lie. Maybe the mother did call the cop, but I can't imagine that he would have believed her. You might file a complaint about that with the Police departments internal affairs officer. I would imagine that the cop gave her a break on the hit and run because she did return, and she was young. Making a speeding charge stick without any radar reading would be tough. She did get charged with running the stop sign, which was the easily probable offense.

I would report to the police and maybe the DA about the call. This is probably witness tampering, obstruction of justice, or something of that nature. However, all you can do is report it. It will be up to the cops and the prosecurtor whether they will do anything about it. With a recorded message, they might have a case, but whether they will pursue it in a traffic case is questionable. The mother may claim it wasn't her that left the message. If there are phone records indicating that she called your number from her home or cell phone, it would help. If she called from a pay phone or somebody else's phone, it may be a little harder to prove that she made the call. Obviously, you are not dealing with honest people here.

[MelK]

OK, here is the plan. (one white lie included):

Send a copy of the tape to the judge. Tell him that you didn't hear the message before the court date (this is the white lie but you are not under oath, and it serves as your excuse for not bringing it up). Tell him your concern is about the obstruction of justice by the Mother. (The daughter's case is over, but you are a witness and you were deliberately dissuaded from appearing)

Let the judge do whatever he will, he may care about obstruction of justice, he may not.

[ QUOTE ]
We live in a no fault society. If no one was injured, what do you expect? And they don't come down that hard on 16 year olds. Kids often flee, and then their Dad sends them back to the scene - I've had this happen to me. Cops don't want to get too involved, no one was injured. People will take advantage of the court system - low consequences of being caught lying. All in all, your situation was quite common.

As long as you were not held responsible, what business of yours is it that the kid got off easy? Or that the judge or the cop didn't really care all that much about a non-injury accident?

Most of you guys want to live in a society of no consequences, where the alcohol and pot and gambling and sex and anything else you want flows freely. So, don't complain with the typical outcome of such a society. This was typical.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is silly. OK, she didnt hurt anyone, but by not giving her a stronger punishment, what makes her realize this is unnaceptable?? Obviously her mother isnt going to handle it as she has allowed her to lie in court about the facts. But when a police officer decides to cut someone slack because of their age it is setting a precedent that noone wants. If I was hurt, does the situation change? Now does she get the hit and run? Does she get charged with reckless driving? So its OK to do this if noone gets hurt?

I find it hard to believe that the cop will judge what happened to me (the victim) as far as the extent of my injuries, before deciding if she should be charged with something. If someone is driving under the influence, police officers dont wait to see if you hit somebody before they decide to charge you with it....


MDoranD

[vexvelour]

[ QUOTE ]
I would imagine that the cop gave her a break on the hit and run because she did return, and she was young.

[/ QUOTE ]

It seems to me that this is exactly why he should have been strict with ticketing her.

She either didn't have a licence or just got one, which is all the more reason to set her straight before she does this crap again.

[Alobar]

was she hot? I bet so and thats why the cop took it light with her.

[ QUOTE ]
It seems to me that this is exactly why he should have been strict with ticketing her.

She either didn't have a licence or just got one, which is all the more reason to set her straight before she does this crap again.

[/ QUOTE ]

My sentiments exactly.

MDoranD

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
Show the message to the judge. I think that will definitely add to your case.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, the judge has already ruled on the traffic violation. He needs to take the message to the cops, or the DA. The witness tampering, obstruction of justice, or whatever it might be, is a separate crime, and probably considerably more serious than running a stop sign, possibly a felony. Whether it will be prosecuted, and whether they can get a conviction is questionable.

[razor]

[ QUOTE ]
I would imagine that the cop gave her a break on the hit and run because she did return, and she was young.

[/ QUOTE ]

If one is considered old enough to drive, one should be expected to act responsibly when an accident occurs.

[Bluffoon]

I would let it go.

It's not like they are going to wake up and go WOW I was wrong I'll never do that again.

Spend your valuable time and energy on something positive.

[poincaraux]

Wow. I wonder how often this happens. My wife got hit-and-run a while ago .. driver in the other lane was asleep at the wheel and swerved into my wife's lane. My wife moved all the way into the median and then off of the road to avoid the other car, honking the horn the whole time. The other car still managed to clip our car. Anyway, the other driver drove away. 30 minutes later, as my wife was filing the police report on the scene, the other car shows up. It's a dad with a 16 yr old girl in tow. The girl claimed she didn't wake up until the stop sign a mile down the road, so she didn't realize that she hit anyone. Riiiiight. So, she was never charged with anything. Her dad did thank my wife for saving his daughter's life, though (a head-on collision probably would've killed the girl .. ditto for running off the road and hitting a tree). Heck, he was even kind enough to pay our insurance deductable (no-fault states are nutso).

The whole thing was crazy. We bought cell phones the day before "just in case we get into a car accident or something." She called 911 and was told that 911 didn't work out there .. she'd have to memorize some other number and call that. The 911 operator couldn't transfer her because of some strange policy. Here's the fun part: when you call 911, your phone gets locked in somehow. I think this is so that they can find your or something. My wife had had the phone for less than 24 hours and had no idea how to unlock the phone. Thus, she had no way to actually call the emergency non-911 number. Luckily for us, one of the other people in her car also had a cell phone. The whole story is nuts.

[vexvelour]

If you try and dial another # after 911 it will usually ask you to type in a code that it gives you to unlock it. It shouldn't have completely locked her out of her phone. Strange.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would imagine that the cop gave her a break on the hit and run because she did return, and she was young.

[/ QUOTE ]

If one is considered old enough to drive, one should be expected to act responsibly when an accident occurs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree, but I'd cut here some slack for coming back, even if it was because her mother told her to. Nonetheless, the cop should have cited her for leaving the scene. OTOH, the mother calling the OP to tell him the court date was changed was inexcusable.

[mmcd]

[ QUOTE ]
We live in a no fault society. If no one was injured, what do you expect? And they don't come down that hard on 16 year olds. Kids often flee, and then their Dad sends them back to the scene - I've had this happen to me. Cops don't want to get too involved, no one was injured. People will take advantage of the court system - low consequences of being caught lying. All in all, your situation was quite common.

As long as you were not held responsible, what business of yours is it that the kid got off easy? Or that the judge or the cop didn't really care all that much about a non-injury accident?

Most of you guys want to live in a society of no consequences, where the alcohol and pot and gambling and sex and anything else you want flows freely. So, don't complain with the typical outcome of such a society. This was typical.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this 100%. Excellent post.

[eviljeff]

I think it would be funny if OP posted something like

"haha, jk I hit that bitch and now I'm taking her to the cleaners"

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
We live in a no fault society. If no one was injured, what do you expect? And they don't come down that hard on 16 year olds. Kids often flee, and then their Dad sends them back to the scene - I've had this happen to me. Cops don't want to get too involved, no one was injured. People will take advantage of the court system - low consequences of being caught lying. All in all, your situation was quite common.

As long as you were not held responsible, what business of yours is it that the kid got off easy? Or that the judge or the cop didn't really care all that much about a non-injury accident?

Most of you guys want to live in a society of no consequences, where the alcohol and pot and gambling and sex and anything else you want flows freely. So, don't complain with the typical outcome of such a society. This was typical.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this 100%. Excellent post.

[/ QUOTE ]


Parents teaching their kids its ok to lie to get out of trouble isnt a product of a society with alcohol, weed, gambling and sex. Thats just the kind of lie your church leader or government official tells you. All of my friends love alchohol weed sex and gambling and we all know right from wrong. all those things can coexist with good morals. What you are talking about is just a product of poor parenting, not a "Degenerate" society.

[BadBoyBenny]

My play would be to use any means necessary insdie or outside the legal system to teach these assholes a lesson.

Also, why are people never charged with perjury for spouting obvious lies like this in court?

[mmcd]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
We live in a no fault society. If no one was injured, what do you expect? And they don't come down that hard on 16 year olds. Kids often flee, and then their Dad sends them back to the scene - I've had this happen to me. Cops don't want to get too involved, no one was injured. People will take advantage of the court system - low consequences of being caught lying. All in all, your situation was quite common.

As long as you were not held responsible, what business of yours is it that the kid got off easy? Or that the judge or the cop didn't really care all that much about a non-injury accident?

Most of you guys want to live in a society of no consequences, where the alcohol and pot and gambling and sex and anything else you want flows freely. So, don't complain with the typical outcome of such a society. This was typical.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this 100%. Excellent post.

[/ QUOTE ]


Parents teaching their kids its ok to lie to get out of trouble isnt a product of a society with alcohol, weed, gambling and sex. Thats just the kind of lie your church leader or government official tells you. All of my friends love alchohol weed sex and gambling and we all know right from wrong. all those things can coexist with good morals. What you are talking about is just a product of poor parenting, not a "Degenerate" society.

[/ QUOTE ]

You took my meaning wrong. I'm damn happy to live in society where the alcohol, weed, gambling, and sex flows freely, and I'm also happy that many cops could care less what you do as long as nobody gets hurt.

What the girl did wasn't too far out of line with what I'd expect a typical 16 year-old to do after an accident like this. She left and came back, so what?

What the mother did about the court date was certainly a little shady, but anyone stupid enough to fall for it probably deserves to get screwed over. Caveat Emptor.

BTW I'm sure almost all 16 years already know to lie to get out of trouble. I probably figured that one out around age 7 or 8. Long live our degenerate society!!!!