Kudos to Phoenix Police and Good Samaritans - Traffic Accident Yesterday at Kierland (rental car)

[ivanabacowboy]

So I just moved out here in September. With my brand new car. I had not even reached my first oil change yet. Yesterday my niece and I were out and got a pedicure at the nail place at 64th & Greenway. We were going just right down the street for lunch at North at Kierland. Luckily we drove separately and she was about 2 minutes ahead of me.....

I stopped at the light at Kierland and Greenway. The vehicle behind me didnt..... So what was I rear-ended by in my new car? Not a passenger car. Not a light duty truck. Not an SUV. I was rear-ended by a FREAKING ARMORED TRUCK! Yep. The kind used to transport cash and stuff. A freaking armored truck! Hit me while I was at a dead stop. Luckily he was at least trying to stop and didnt plow into me at the full 40-45 mph or whatever the speed limit is there...or it wouldve been much much worse driving those many tons of armor plating into my poor Dodge which weighed in at a whopping 4000 pounds! Pushed me right out into the intersection. Luckily oncoming traffic saw me and no one else got hit.

Luckily there were some witnesses and they stopped and made sure I was alright. And they called the police and stayed around to give their report. There really are some decent folks still in the world. I hope their names and addresses are on the report so I can send them a thank you or something. They were really nice.

The Phoenix police responded. Got there within maybe 5 minutes. Like 4 cop cars. They were really nice. Suppose either it was a slow Sunday afternoon or the fact I was blocking a major intersection may have had something to do with it.

Needless to say the other driver got cited....

Luckily my niece came right over. And she has been in a few wrecks out here so had towing and collision repair shop both on her speed dial. ;-) We had my car towed to Van's on FLW. We tried the Dodge dealer on FLW but they didn't do collision work there, just basic repairs.

Now onto the insurance and repair merry-go-round. And hopefully I get a rental today.

I am sort of hoping they total the car. It was nearly new. And I must say it absorbed the impact EXCEPTIONALLY WELL for the many tons of armored metal that plowed into me. It basically all was absorbed by the rear bumper and rear hatch. My tail lights or the pillars on side of the hatch didnt even crack or bend, and my trunk space inside the hatch didnt even buckle-just all the metal bumper/hatch entirely buckled and obviously the entire back windshield is somewhere in the middle of Greenway.... (I didnt see that the cops put out flares tho, so I wonder how many people got flat tires on Greenway yesterday??).

The vehicle still drove without leaking anything or making horrific noises-the police had us pul onto Kierland by the Executive Center something office building. Of course the armored vehicle noted in their report their damage: "Scratch on bumper..." A SCRATCH-compared to my vehicle...
Tho I wonder where the air bag sensors are--->none of them deployed???

Tho with that heavy of a weight, I do not know what else may have been broken that I couldnt see---->like the frame.

I do thank the police and the witnesses tho.

[exit2lef]

The Phoenix PD's fast response is impressive but not surprising. The few times I've had to call on them, thankfully for minor issues, they've been very quick to arrive.

[Bummer]

Bummer on the wreck, Ivanabacowboy!

Thankfully you're ok as it sounds like it could have been much worse.

Hopefully the next stage of your accident, the insurance and repair steps, will be equally as "painfree"!

As for the Law Enforcement Response . . . definitely a "kudos" letter to the boss is warranted.

Good Luck!

[aj661]

Tow truck drivers are responsible for sweeping up the intersections, but window glass isn't much of a tire hazard.

[sassieb75]

Glad you are ok. Don't airbages only deploy when you hit someone else? I didn't think they deployed when rear-ended.....

[BurtsBees]

Mostly frontal collisions are when the airbags go off. Good to hear that you're OK, I know what its like being rear ended by a large vehicle (Try a garbage truck!). Also good to hear that Phoenix PD actually shows up and in a timely manner. Not like that here in Detroit! Most calls for service in Detroit are a 1-2 hour wait, however its the suburbs that respond in just minutes.

[artyst]

good to hear that you're ok, but you should see your dr. for whiplash. i ended up with a bad whiplash after i was rear ended in the same manner (i was stopped at a red light) by a 72 year old woman. she was cited by the police but she told her insurance company that she blacked out! i actually saw her steering to avoid hitting me but she couldn't quite make it into the left turn lane. well my claim was denied by her insurance because they called her "black out" an "act of god." hopefully, the person driving the armoured truck won't claim they "blacked out!" my case is in the hands of an attorney. best wishes!

[joninaz]

I'm suprised there isn't an army of lawyers lined up begging you to hire them... hit by a truck full of money? To many that's a Wonka bar with a gold ticket! Glad you are ok.

[ivanabacowboy]

Update: yes I will be seeing a doctor. I know my injuries arent serious enough to 911 an ambulance. So I needed a car to get to the regular doctor. I had an appointment Tuesday morning. However.....

The horror story. Monday their insurance agent called me. Told me "Yep they are liable. As soon as I get the claim number from the carrier will hook you up with a rental car". I also needed the claim number to initiate repairs to my vehicle. I really thought I would give them a try to a point going thru their insurance. Tuesday came and went. I had no car.

By Wednesday I went ballistic. I called a manager at their company. Who told me it would be THREE WEEKS BEFORE I EVEN GOT A CLAIM NUMBER MUCH LESS A RENTAL CAR! That the first guy "never told me" blah blah. Liars.

I finally told my insurance agent to sic em. (I have American Family.) I called my agent late last night. By 2 pm today I had a rental car courtesy of THEIR insurance. According to my agent, the other insurance company HAD authorized my rental ON MONDAY. Just the guys I talked to were either a) lying or b) didnt know what the heck they were doing. Now of course getting any appointment with any doctor over the holidays I am suspicioning will be next to impossible. But as soon as I can get in.

BurtsBees: A garbage truck? At least the armored truck um smelled better. ;-)

artyst: I strongly suspicion the blackout being an "act of god" isn't going to fly. Quite possibly they are trying to force you into ligitation (ie filing a lawsuit) to delay or minimize the claim. But I think their chances are about nil on that act of god thing. Hope your attorney does well for you!