Hit by a Red Light Runner

[RWebb]

Luckily, I was in the beater Subaru (which is now a real beater).

The 27 yr. old woman told me she was not on a cell phone, and said she thought the light was yellow. I went back later and it is about a 3 sec. yellow. Three witnesses said the light was red when she ran it and plowed into me.

She hit me in the rear passenger door - and she hit so hard my car was spun around about 150 degrees, pointing partially backwards. Her car "plowed through" mine and went maybe 100 ft. further before she stopped. I always keep watch at the intersections in this congested area (scared of hitting a ped. or bicyclist who are thick in this area), and did not see her, implying that she was pretty far down the street, and going very fast. The speed limit on her street is 20 mph and I estimate she was going about twice that.

Some fun things: [1] one witness, a young guy, was mainly concerned with me blocking the bike lane (I pulled over into the bike lane and took a few seconds to decompress, then left the car with the blinkers on while I got out and looked around for the car that hit me).

[2] Somebody called 911, and Fire Dept. was there right away. The cops did not come out, but sent a Community Service person (not a sworn officer). He was a nice young kid, but they do not file a "real" accident report. You are required to report it to them and to the state DMV (as it was over $1,500 in damage).

[3] The DMV form says they will not give me a copy of my own report (misdemeanor if you do not file!), but they do stick into your driving record (which a cop will see if he stops you for revenue collection)!

[4] My ins. co. took my report and will send me a nice letter, suitable for framing. I don't carry collision on this car, so they told me to collect from the other driver's insurance co. Sorta sounds like they are telling me "you're on yer own, sucka!"
We will see...

[bivenator]

Glad you made it out physically ok. Sound like the real beating is gonna come from the ins. company.
She traveled another 100ft after impact and her speed limit was 20, that seems unlikely. Too bad the cops are indifferent, she should have gotten a ticket and that would have helped your cause.

[RWebb]

yup - guess the cops feel like they aren't going to "waste time" on non-injury accidents anymore; the CSO was fairly prompt but I doubt he can even issue a ticket

I got the impression from my ins. co., the DMV, and the city cops that "we don't really care about this."

[Hugh R]

Glad you're OK. Don't know Oregon vehicle laws, but if you can get some leverage, subpoena her cell phone records.

[island911]

Wow.

If only there was a camera there to protect you and your car from impact.

And how dare you potentially block the sacred cow of Orygon - the cyclist. Especially when out ruining the planet with that CO₂ spewing Subbie.

[azasadny]

Glad you're not hurt!

[Zeke]

They will when you file an injury report. Hardly anyone thinks they've been injured unless they see blood, which is ridiculous. Your situation was not handled well and the results will be protracted. I know, my wife was hit in my car on 5/22 and she finally got into therapy a few weeks ago. The fact that she got such a run around initially is going to weigh heavily when a claim is made.

She had to go get an attorney just so a doctor would see her. The docs she called said they don't do traffic accidents. Nice.

There is no such thing as a non injury accident until you say "no injury" a year later.

And I'm not some sort of scammer, I'm just tired of people getting smacked by errant air heads and then expected to cover their own loss.

Hit me and you'll know that's not how I roll.

I guess this topic hit me in a tender spot.

[KaptKaos]

Glad you're ok. Sucks to get in an accident, luckily there doesn't seem to have been anyone in the passenger seat of your car.

Subpoena her phone records.

[Racerbvd]

Glad you are OK, and weren't in the 911...

[enzo1]

Originally Posted by racerbvd

glad you are ok, and weren't in the 911...

+1

[crustychief]

Wow, I am glad you weren't hurt. I would definitely go after her cell records for that time frame. Sorry this happened to you.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Glad you weren't hurt, good luck with the most painful part.....dealing with insurance. It's amazing that the cops didn't even show up.

[johnsjmc]

Glad you weren,t hurt. Call and report the accident to her insurance company. She might not have reported it already and it can,t hurt your case. Tell them you have a witness and see what they say to do.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

Glad you are OK, and weren't in the 911...

thx Byron & everyone - I quoted Byron's post rather than the others b/c he hit both the key issues

[RWebb]

milt - I appreciate what you are saying - and am sorry to hear that you sound like it happened to you. Such delayed effects are common.

[jyl]

Glad you're ok.

I assume that so far you are hoping this is just a property damage matter of moderate size - that while it is too early to determine if you've been physically injured, for now you are hoping for the best.

1. You have witnesses? Call them, type out clear concise statements, bring to them and have them sign. Double-space so they can make corrections/additions, those should be initialed. Do it now before their memories fade, they lose interest, or are contacted and misled by the girl's insurance company. Leave copy of statement with witness. Do not make self-deprecating statements to the witness harmful to your claim, regarding accident or extent of your loss/injury.

2. Do you feel any pain, soreness, anything? If yes, go to your doctor. As milt says, injury often manifests a later. Do not modestly/stoically under-report your discomfort - be accurate and don't leave anything out.

3. Photograph the scene and mark directions, locations. Photograph skid marks, glass, where she stopped, where you were spun, etc. Helps your own recollection. How much your car was rotated and how far she proceeded are clues to her speed. Also photograph damage to your car.

4. Make a claim on her insurance. You should get full value of your car if nothing else. Do not make statements, check boxes, etc limiting potential personal injury claims. Do not fail to mention potential personal injury claim - write something like "this is a claim for property damage, personal injury claim being assessed", no details. Do not settle until you are sure of your injuries or lack thereof.

5. If you conclude this is more than just a modest property damage case, i.e. you realize you have been physically injured to a significant extent, then turn matter over to a lawyer.

[RWebb]

a belated thanks, John

called them yesterday to boot them into action - they called back today & said they are going to total the vehicle

repairs would cost $5,500

so, I need to decide what else to get...

also, if you'd waited on your VW engine install, you could have picked up this motor... want a spare

[jyl]

I see a vanaru in your future

[RWebb]

too much work...

[Superman]

I am one of those naive people who assumes everyone will do their job and everything will turn out alright. On my planet, at least in my dreams, that's how things work.

In the real world though, people (and insurance companies) have figured out how to "game" the system. It's basically not worth the trouble for you to pursue this. If you do, just get an attorney now, and be sure to pick out a particularly vicious one.

Again, as I say, I have spent more than half a lifetime pretending that things like this will work out fairly. Now I know the truth. The truth is........if I am ever in a significant collision, I am very likely to leave the scene in an ambulance. Had you done this, there would be plenty of police reports and both insurance companies would instantly become involved.