I parked next to a relatively late model jaguar tonight at the dry cleaner. As I get out of my car and walk in, I notice he is just about to start backing up. I didn't think anything of it, his brake lights weren't on so I just walked behind his car and went in. I come out and notice a huge, I mean huge, huge dent in my rear driver side door and the guy with the jaguar is long gone...
But wait, this story gets better...
Another guy sitting in his car at the drivethrough window told me what happened, that the guy in the Jaguar hit my car, got out and looked at it, and then drove off. This guy gives me the license plate, I walk back into the dry cleaner, they hand me the phone so I can call the police and then they give me a receipt of the guy who hit my car with his phone number!
My first call was to the police, and they came out and took the report. But while I was waiting, I had the chance to call the hit and runner. I asked him if he wanted to come back to discuss the damage to my car or if he just wanted the police to come to his house and arrest him...a very satisfying call to make mind you. The guy says, "oooohhh, did I hit your car????? I didn't realize I did so..." I said you know damn well you hit it. He didn't realize had a witness who saw him look at the damage. What a liar. He said, "oooohhhh, ok, yeah, Ill be right there...." He comes back, I told him to stay away from me but he refused so I proceeded to cus him out.
The cops came and told me that if they had to go get him the charge would have been more serious..... I don't know the legalities of it but in spite of my incredible persuasion, the officer would not entertain my request to put him in jail for the evening. They just wrote up a report.
I don't mind people accidently running into my 20 year old car, but don't run away when you do, face the music like a man! And how great is it that there are thoughtful people in this world like the witness and the people at the dry cleaners??????
erohslc
HalfDork
11/12/12 6:02 p.m.
The H&R guy sounds like a card carrying member of the Doucheratti.
I've considered putting a video system on board, 4 cameras, one frame/sec, A cheap 80 Gb drive can store a lot of pictures.
oldtin
SuperDork
11/12/12 6:08 p.m.
Glad to see people step about what they saw. Now he/his insurance needs to make it right.
sorry to hear about the dent.. but way to go on getting the guy to come back
That sucks man. Mad props to blessing the guy out though.
Well, I'm glad you did have witnesses, and cops willing to do their job. Getting that combination is remarkably rare.
Hit-and-runs aren't uncommon around here. My sisters focus has been hit multiple times. Guy tried running from one he hit two doors down. Made it around the corner before the truck shut down on him. My wife actually jumped in the car to follow. Living on a busy street, you learn to make the most use of your driveway as possible and sometimes that doesn't work. Ya see... the neighbor hit-and-runned my house. You can read all about it here.
what can you say, Jaguar owners.... =/
corytate wrote:
what can you say, Jaguar owners.... =/
At least he didn't steal your newspaper.
njansenv wrote:
corytate wrote:
what can you say, Jaguar owners.... =/
At least he didn't steal your newspaper.
I'm rolling on the floor right now!
A few years ago my Alfa and my wife's W123 Benz were side swipped in the middle of the night. I only carry liability, as none of my cars are worth the cost of comprehensive. Luckily though, I do buy the extra uninsured/under insured coverage.
Insurance didn't total either vehicle, but I received 1.9x the amount I paid for the W123 (we'd had it less than 36 hours!) and 1.5x the amount I paid for the Alfa 6 months prior.
Once in a university parking lot I saw a group of girls getting into an NZE Corolla parked next to an Opel Corsa. They cranked the wheel hard before moving off and hit their side into the front corner of the Opel so freaking hard that it popped into the air.
Two of them got out, said "it's fine, it's fine," ran back in and drove off
The Opel did just have some scratches though. They're tough little cars.
it blows to have someone hit your car, nice that the folks around backed you up!
Used to live in a townhouse apartment complex. Came out one morning to go to work and someone had smashed their Audi into my 3000gt and left their car hanging over the line in my parking space so close I had to go through the passenger side to get into the car. I took photos of the damage and how he parked his car diagonally in a no-parking spot, basically touching mine. When my insurance company contacted him, he flat out denied involvement. Some people...
The last time someone dented my car, it was in a parking lot. His son (in a car seat) opened the rear door and it banged into my car. Oh well, an accident, just give me your info and we will all be on our way. But Dad starts yelling at the kid like he just killed someone. The kid and his brother are both scared out of their minds because of abusive Dad's tirade. I can see that they will catch a sever beating from asshat Dad, so I smile at them, say "hey, stuff happens, it's just a car" and walk away.
I hope that I saved them a beating, and that they go live with someone nice when Dad goes to jail someday soon.
Old guy in a big Ford pickup backed out of a parking space in a hospital parking deck and up onto the hood of my wife's newish Acura TL, which was in its own parking slot, until his rear tires were off the ground on one side. He gets out, looks at massive damage, drives off. Witness gets his plate and has hospital campus police stop him and write a report. "I had no idea, blah blah." He was insured. I tell witness I'm going to do something nice for him and he says he would be humiliated if he took a gift in exchange for doing the right thing. They're out there, both kinds of people.
yamaha
Dork
11/13/12 11:03 a.m.
I remember back in '01 or '02 my family went out to eat......parked out away from everyone else. Came back out to find the front end of their 2 week old Lincoln LS smashed in.....and a note on it saying a semi backed into it.....the trailer's plate number was listed, we reported it.....they contacted the trailer's owner, and they had no idea where the trailer was..... Its amazing at how people don't keep track of who has what trailer at what time......
From the other side.. I was in Elizabeth NJ doing a delvery when I used to work commercial. I took the mirror off of somebody's Taurus wagon. I stopped, went inside, and found the owner. He was surprised that I even bothered.
yamaha
Dork
11/13/12 11:14 a.m.
In reply to mad_machine:
people always seem amazed by this......idk why.
Note to self: Never call the H&R guy. Let the cops go get him.
I remember a few years ago while I was in school.
I had just finished painting my BMW a few weeks earlier (it was just a rattlebomb) and was waiting outside my (at the time) girlfriends dorm in the car.
Car full of girls parks next to me, one of them pops open her door hard into my car. I of course get out and register my displeasure, they couldn't understand why I was upset.
Type Q
Dork
11/13/12 12:57 p.m.
I guess I can chalk this up to crappy rear view in new vehicles and inattentive driving. I was driving my Miata a couple of weekends ago. I pulled into the left turn lane behind a BMW X5 while the light was red. All of a sudden the BMW backs up into me. I guess the lady driving decided she didn't want to turn left after all was positioning herself to move into another lane. To her credit, she called her insurance company on the spot, made a report and took full responsibility for the collision. I appreciated her doing the right thing.
It's fortunate her truck had a trailer hitch. It left a hitch ball sized divit in the bumper cover and squish the plastic "energy aborber" behind it. Without the hitch, I suspect she would have rolled up over the top of the bumper, bent the hood, radiator support and who know what else. The Miata is getting fixed next week.
The wife hit a parked, unmarked FBI car when she was in high school. She left a note with her name and info and all that. The feds were so surprised with it, not only did they pay for the repairs to their car without using insurance, they paid for HER car to be fixed,and there was no reporting or points on her license or anything.