Hit & Run - Need Advice
 

My cousin was on his way to work today when I guy changed lanes and clipped him. The both stopped on the side of the road, but the guy took off immediately after. My cousin followed him and dialed 911. He told the operator the licence plate #, but the operator was apparently no help and and said to just file a claim with the insurance. My cousin stopped pursuing the guy since he was driving very dangerously and weaving between traffic. He's a little shook and doesn't remember the license plate off the top of his head. He called Statefarm and they said they would put in a claim and he has to pay his deductible, but his rate will go up (way to make him feel better). I was under the assumption either he or the insurance could get a record of the 911 call to get the licence plate #. Do any of you have any suggestions? It's a really crappy situation and I feel bad for him.

Call the 911 dispatch to get a recording of the incident, get a supervisor on the phone and tell them what the dispatcher had said. Or go to the police station and file a police report. Have them call the dispatch and grab the info sense he doesn't remember off the top of his head. And get a bloody dash cam!

This is why I have a dash cam on all my cars. Good luck,

Ian B

:iagree::iagree:

He ended up doing exactly this. They were able to pull up the guy's record and apparently he's familiar with law enforcement.

Keep us updated!

This morning the cops went to the guy's home to arrest him and charged him with fleeing the scene of an accident, reckless driving, and speeding (a camera caught him while he was getting away on 495 in a construction zone coincidentally ha!). Not sure what's going to happen now. The cuzzo is waiting to hear back from the adjuster. I'm pretty sure the insurance will collect damages from the other guy's insurance and my cousin will get his deductible back.

Hit and run. My money is on the dude not having insurance. Good luck to your cousin!

Surprisingly he has Nationwide lol

Our neighbor actually hit my sister's car once while backing out. The neighbor was insured, but he just paid my sister a fair amount of cash rather than going through insurance. He said if he filed this it would for sure raise his rates lol It's also convenient that he's rich as fuhhh

Dash cam is a must. I was in a similar situation and wished I had one.

How much damage was there on each car? In my case, there was barely any so I couldn't rely on that.

Yeah, I have a dash cam and I agree.

I don't know the extent of damage on his car since my cousin told me it already looked banged up. The rear bumper of my cousin's car was pretty scuffed up with deep gouges and some dents.

Update - the guy is under his mother's insurance and she had no idea any of this was going on. She was furious when the insurance company called her. I'm not sure of the specifics, but my cousin's insurance dropped the claim. The other guy's insurance is paying for all the damages and actually provided $250 for potential medical bills and $800 for the hassle lol My cousin is happy with the outcome and really wanted to the avoid the whole legal case anyway although this could've been an easy one for him and I think the insurance company knew this.

I hate hit and runs. Tell your friend to be on the lookout for subpeonas to appear as a witness. They will cite the offender and list him as a suspect but they'll also look for witness testimony. They can have the video but at trial and for depositions ( If he's habitual , depending on your areas traffic division) . If your friend misses a date the defense is just waiting for any opportunity or excuse to drop charges. It won't affect the insurance outcome but you want that bastard to pay since mom is footing the insurance anyway.