Drunk driver rear ended me.

[SiR_91]

So went for a drive with the wife tonight .Got to a stop light and was waiting for the light to turn green. Truck pulls up behind me and stops about 4 feet from my rear bumper. I think nothing of it, hoping the light will change soon. All of a sudden it gets really bright in my rear view mirror and I look up right as the truck hits me. The horrible crunching sound if the bumper and back of the car is smashed. I get out to confront him. I can smell the alcohol before I get to the back of my car. As soon as I am almost to the end of my car he throws it in reverse and takes off around me almost hitting me in the process. Now I'm without a car and a drunk got away.

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[givemeadollar]

Check where he hit for a license plate imprint. Cops caught a hit and run that smashed my buddies car a couple years ago while it was parked on the street. Because when you looked at it in the right angle you could see the imprint of the idiots license plate on my buddys bumper. Sorry this happened and hopefully everything works out well for you.

 

[Lilruben1]

If you are really trying to fight it you can try and see if that light has a camera maybe the city will let you use it for your case

 

[saiko21]

Sorry for your loss. Check traffic cams at that spot as it happened at signals. Cops can help you out to track the car, sometimes insurance guys can pull it up as proofs. One of my friend experienced the same and insurance people pulled up the images

 

[Hollywoo0220]

On a Friday night and this happening (as you described) and not calling the authorities (for at least a hit and run report) would indicate that perhaps you too were in a condition the other driver was in?
You will need that report to support the insurance claim.

 

[jred721]

Yeah, not calling the authorities the moment it happened was a terrible idea, not sure why you would wait. There is a decent chance that there is a traffic cam where it happened though, but for that again you need to contact the authorities and inquire about it. If you even remember the make and model of the truck that hit you, than can help as well.

 

[charleswrivers]

So went for a drive with the wife tonight .Got to a stop light and was waiting for the light to turn green. Truck pulls up behind me and stops about 4 feet from my rear bumper. I think nothing of it, hoping the light will change soon. All of a sudden it gets really bright in my rear view mirror and I look up right as the truck hits me. The horrible crunching sound if the bumper and back of the car is smashed. I get out to confront him. I can smell the alcohol before I get to the back of my car. As soon as I am almost to the end of my car he throws it in reverse and takes off around me almost hitting me in the process. Now I'm without a car and a drunk got away.

That sucks. At least you and your wife are ok. Had the guy run you down... today would be going much differently for you... if at all. Whatever outcome with the guy that hit you being caught or not, glad you don't have tire prints all over you.

 

[SCOPESYS]

This probably happens a lot, and not everyone has a rear view/front view Webcam, especially running all the time, to capture such an event.

In hindsight, some Photographic evidence would make the resolution of such an even so much easier, but even with a smartphone, getting it out/disconnected, and ready to take pictures taken some time,

I am thinking a Disposable Camera, kept in the Glove Compartment. a 400 ASA with Flash. About $10. Easy to grab.. ready to go, decent Flash. Just a thought for those quickly occurring moments you wish you could have caught on film.

Also, confronting a stranger at night, who is probably drunk, is not the smartest thing to do, unless you are prepared to defend yourself. So maybe you need a little more than a Disposable camera in your Glove Compartment ?

Edit:
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[Lukifer]

On a Friday night and this happening (as you described) and not calling the authorities (for at least a hit and run report) would indicate that perhaps you too were in a condition the other driver was in?
You will need that report to support the insurance claim.

Yeah, not calling the authorities the moment it happened was a terrible idea, not sure why you would wait. There is a decent chance that there is a traffic cam where it happened though, but for that again you need to contact the authorities and inquire about it. If you even remember the make and model of the truck that hit you, than can help as well.

Wait a second... just because he didnt SAY that he called the police, leads you to reason that he didnt... and then you infer that he was drunk, too? What the hell?

Nowhere in his post does it say that he didnt call the police.

I would assume that he did call them and made a report, but the drunk still got away.

 

[SiR_91]

On a Friday night and this happening (as you described) and not calling the authorities (for at least a hit and run report) would indicate that perhaps you too were in a condition the other driver was in?
You will need that report to support the insurance claim.

Yes the police where called instantly and thankfully for the dash cam and audio and the fact that I just been talking to another officer 20 minutes prior to it helped out the situation.

 

[SiR_91]

Update to the hit and run:
Thank you all for the help. The funny thing is I had a dash cam I put in last week. The rear camera showed up this morning from amazon. I will admit it wasn't the smartest idea I had ever had to jump out of the car right away but it was my first response to access damage and to check on the person that hit me. To make sure everyone was ok first. Some old habits die very hard. No i wasn't drinking and no i can not stand the smell or taste of alcohol. Just like the smell of certain narcotics make me physically sick. And no not everyone who is out at 1:00 a.m. has been drinking. I have to wait till Monday before the bank that was right next to where it happened to pull their cameras, and I already contacted the Mcdonalds to see if they had any cameras on the outside but sadly no. Insurance was notified and thanks to the dash cam showing me sitting at the light along with the conversation with my wife in the car right before he hits me the said they will cover it. American Family is really awesome in this instance. Lukifer you are exactly right. Wife called while I got out to check on the driver that hit me. Having two people in the car makes it alot easier to take care of things. Scopeyes normally I carry my side arm but it didnt have it on me last night thinking just a quick trip to visit and officer on an ongoing investigation. And yes I wished I would have grabbed my phone so I had a camera, and i will be carrying a disposable from no one. I left completely unprepared for last night. I hate myself for it. Just and FYI never assume that the victim of something is always at fault or is just as guilty as the person that committed a crime. I realize some could draw that conclusion from the short narrative I wrote and that is understandable. But try not to jump to conclusions. If need be i can post the entire nights video of what happened, where I was, and the audio. Certain parts of audio will have to be removed do to an ongoing investigation but the video footage itself will be in full.

 

[SiR_91]

That sucks. At least you and your wife are ok. Had the guy run you down... today would be going much differently for you... if at all. Whatever outcome with the guy that hit you being caught or not, glad you don't have tire prints all over you.

Funny story back in 2009 I was driving home from my fathers funeral and had a drunk driver literally back up on to my hood of the miata i was driving at stop light with a officer right behind me lol. Crushed the windshield frame and everything. Thankfully the officer was right there when it happened because the driver took off and and pulled a gun on them when they finally got him stopped. Tox screen showed he was 0.32 after they booked him in. I really dont ever want to relieve that one again.

 

[jred721]

Wait a second... just because he didnt SAY that he called the police, leads you to reason that he didnt... and then you infer that he was drunk, too? What the hell?

Nowhere in his post does it say that he didnt call the police.

I would assume that he did call them and made a report, but the drunk still got away.

Update to the hit and run:
Thank you all for the help. The funny thing is I had a dash cam I put in last week. The rear camera showed up this morning from amazon. I will admit it wasn't the smartest idea I had ever had to jump out of the car right away but it was my first response to access damage and to check on the person that hit me. To make sure everyone was ok first. Some old habits die very hard. No i wasn't drinking and no i can not stand the smell or taste of alcohol. Just like the smell of certain narcotics make me physically sick. And no not everyone who is out at 1:00 a.m. has been drinking. I have to wait till Monday before the bank that was right next to where it happened to pull their cameras, and I already contacted the Mcdonalds to see if they had any cameras on the outside but sadly no. Insurance was notified and thanks to the dash cam showing me sitting at the light along with the conversation with my wife in the car right before he hits me the said they will cover it. American Family is really awesome in this instance. Lukifer you are exactly right. Wife called while I got out to check on the driver that hit me. Having two people in the car makes it alot easier to take care of things. Scopeyes normally I carry my side arm but it didnt have it on me last night thinking just a quick trip to visit and officer on an ongoing investigation. And yes I wished I would have grabbed my phone so I had a camera, and i will be carrying a disposable from no one. I left completely unprepared for last night. I hate myself for it. Just and FYI never assume that the victim of something is always at fault or is just as guilty as the person that committed a crime. I realize some could draw that conclusion from the short narrative I wrote and that is understandable. But try not to jump to conclusions. If need be i can post the entire nights video of what happened, where I was, and the audio. Certain parts of audio will have to be removed do to an ongoing investigation but the video footage itself will be in full.

Yeah thats my bad, should have read OP's post better. Saw the guy above me say that so I also assumed that he didnt call them. Also, I wasnt assuming you were drunk or anyhing, nor did I assume you were at fault. Im happy that insurance is covering the damage though and I honestly hope everything works out.

 

[SiR_91]

Yeah thats my bad, should have read OP's post better. Saw the guy above me say that so I also assumed that he didnt call them. Also, I wasnt assuming you were drunk or anyhing, nor did I assume you were at fault. Im happy that insurance is covering the damage though and I honestly hope everything works out.

Your fine .No harm no foul. Didn't take it personally. Believe me, I learned that along time ago. Just fogufigid better explain things and clear things up for people. After a long stressful day and that happening and being tired and sore and comign down from the adrenaline rush I didn't realize how vague my post was till I checked this afternoon. All good. I promise lol

 

[SiR_91]

Update: After the insurance adjuster looked at the car at the body shop and the dash cam they determined the car is most likely a total loss due to damage. And thank to a bank camera the drive was caught rear endeding me and fleeing the scene.

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