Hit and Run Advice (San Antonio, Anton: home, deductible, living in)

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by rd2007

BTW, would they give you the other driver's info? I'd definitely make sure someone paid some sort of price for this...

Nope, they didn't give him the other driver's info. Probably the insurance adjustor can get that, I'll find out tomorrow...but they probably won't give us the info.

I was really impressed that someone actually followed the other vehicle and called the police...that's more than most people around here would do and I truly appreciate them doing it.

[skeet09]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

If you've been in a similar situation, did the person who hit you ever suffer any consequences? Did the police actually do anything? I'll be honest, we have insurance to cover this and we can afford the deductible, I just want to feel like the other driver will have some consequences.

My hubby is in a similiar situation at the moment. A truck clipped him and kept driving away. Hubby followed him and started calling 911. Truck finally stopped and driver said "I didn't see you." This was someone weaving in and out of traffic. While waiting for an officer to show up, they exchanged insurance info. Hubby noticed that the insurance was expired and driver claimed he needed to get going to pick up his kids and he took off before officer showed up. Our insurance said that our deductible will be lower than usual and they will try to get us reimbursement for deductible. So right now we are playing wait and see.

[wellguy]

In the past 10 years our Family has had 5 incidents where the other parties (all at Fault) had no insurance. State Farm attempted to get their money and our deductible back but.....No Luck.

One incident that still bothers me was when my Stepson's car was hit and we found out that the driver was unauthorized according to Fred Loya Insurance.
I was always under the impression that the insurance followed the car no matter who was driving.

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by rd2007

it's just a city full of inconsiderate, rude, and (most importantly) irresponsible people. Obviously not 100% of them, but a huge majority.

Seriously? A "huge majority?" If you hate the people here so much, why do you stay?!?

Yes, we have our fair share of "inconsiderate, rude, and (most importantly) irresponsible people;" but guess what? I see just as many (if not more) of people with those traits in every major city in this country. You think folks are more considerate, courteous and responsible in NYC, Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC or any other large metro area? Sorry, they're not; and to act like it's so considerably greater here is pure fiction.

I can't tell you the number of hit and run incidents I heard about while living in Florida. It was pretty common there, and I am sure it's the same in most other states.

Just for the record, per the Transportation Code in Texas hit and run is a third degree felony if the accident involves a fatality or serious bodily injury. Accidents causing less serious injuries are punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for not more than five years or confinement in the county jail for not more than one year and/or a fine not to exceed $5,000. Accidents causing $200 or more in total damages without injuries are punishable by a class B misdemeanor, and accidents causing less than $200 in total damages are a class C misdemeanor (source).

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

My husband's car was hit today on his way to work. They hit the rear wheel on the driver's side, and then he spun out and the other side of the car went into the guardrail. It's pretty banged up...it's an older car with high mileage so insurance will probably consider it totaled. The hubby is a little sore but otherwise okay.

The car that hit him drove off without even attempting to stop. A witness followed the car to a house nearby, and then called the police. The police officers went to the house but the driver was already out of the vehicle and wouldn't answer the door. The officers ran the plates and said the vehicle's insurance lapsed two days ago, and that they'd have investigators follow up because the people wouldn't answer their door.

If you've been in a similar situation, did the person who hit you ever suffer any consequences? Did the police actually do anything? I'll be honest, we have insurance to cover this and we can afford the deductible, I just want to feel like the other driver will have some consequences.

Since you have insurance (Collision and/or Uninsured, I presume), and the other vehicle apparently does not, it looks like you would probably have had to file a claim with your own insurance, even if they had stopped.

You're lucky there were no injuries, and there was a witness who followed the other car. Now you need to file a claim with your insurance, and give them the witness' name & contact info, police report #, and description of what happened. If you are able to provide your insurance with other car owner's name, they'll probably have to pay you for your damages (less your deductible), and attempt to collect damages from that other party. If they are successful, you should get your deductible refunded. They'll probably try to do this, whether the other owner has insurance or not. Your insurance doesn't want to foot the bill for this, if liabilty can be pinned on somebody else, and they may spend a few months, or maybe a year or more attempting to collect from the other party before they give up. They should notify you if and when they feel they have exhausted all avenues available to them to collect.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

My husband's car was hit today on his way to work. They hit the rear wheel on the driver's side, and then he spun out and the other side of the car went into the guardrail. It's pretty banged up...it's an older car with high mileage so insurance will probably consider it totaled. The hubby is a little sore but otherwise okay.

The car that hit him drove off without even attempting to stop. A witness followed the car to a house nearby, and then called the police. The police officers went to the house but the driver was already out of the vehicle and wouldn't answer the door. The officers ran the plates and said the vehicle's insurance lapsed two days ago, and that they'd have investigators follow up because the people wouldn't answer their door.

If you've been in a similar situation, did the person who hit you ever suffer any consequences? Did the police actually do anything? I'll be honest, we have insurance to cover this and we can afford the deductible, I just want to feel like the other driver will have some consequences.

Well, I hate to say this, but...I'm afraid you may have to keep wishing.

I was hit VERY badly in February 1999. The driver hit me as I was crossing an intersection at Beltway 8 and Memorial Drive in Houston, the equivalent of Miltary and 1604. He was doing approximately 52 miles an hour, and I was just getting started and not even out of first gear, so they think I was doing about 12 miles an hour. Even though he hit me perpendicularly, my car looked like it was hit head-on. The force of the crash spun me out across the intersection into oncoming traffic on Memorial. Thankfully, no one was there yet from the intersection just west of it.

The driver RAN from the vehicle. Like a big chicken sh*t, if you'll pardon my language. The passenger was held, and we were able to get information on the driver. All I have is a NAME. I will always carry that name with me. He of course fled his apartment, and then we found out he isn't even here legally. Harris County said he'd probably gone back to Mexico. So my trail went cold...and there was absolutely NOTHING we could do. My insurance totalled my car and that was it. I am just so glad I made it out of that wreck okay. I had some problems but nothing a little time and healing couldn't help, but it was a very traumatic accident for me because I was #1 about a block from home (my cousin died in a similar accident close to his home), and #2 I carried quite a bit of anger around for the longest time. All you can do is thank the Lord you're alive and in one piece (or in this case, your hubby) and try to just move on.

Good luck to you.

[HillCountryHotRodMan]

Dude hit me this weekend while my vehicle was parked. His face survived my wrath. SAPD would not dispatch to the scene because no ambulance was required (which is fine with me). Who backs out of a parking space without looking where they are going?

The short answer: About 70% of drivers.

Filed a claim after. If he lies to his insurance company about what he did, I have his address and will gladly change my mind about his spared face. He struck a parked and very expensive and cherished muscle car while I was minding my own business doing nothing. Big middle finger to the world.

[L210]

There is a chance that SAPD did nothing. My coworker's brother's car was parked and hit by a woman in their apartment complex. They followed her and she came out of her apartment swinging a bat. They called the police and SAPD just said that she was probably drunk and didn't do anything. I think they got her sober friend to exchange insurance information, but that was about it.

I was hit by someone without a license, with warrants, and no insurance. The guy got a ticket for not having a license and his totaled vehicle was supposed to be towed to some house. The address he gave to the tow driver didn't even exist. It turns out that he wasn't an authorized driver on the insurance and that the car was his father's who has the same name, so I had to go down to the courthouse and fill out paperwork so that the city could press charges against him. He never showed up for his court date and my insurance company turned him over to collections. I'm not expecting to get my deductible back. This guy just has another warrant on his record and it'll probably be a long time before he's picked up.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

When my husband got home from work at 10 last night, he told me the rest...

He was turning rt onto the access rd in a dedicated turn lane and the car hit him while he was still in the turn. It spun him sideways so his door was against their front grill and he could feel their engine revving while they pushed him about 30 feet down the road and into the guardrail. Our car got hung up on the guardrail and came unstuck from theirs. He said they never braked at all. They had a V8 and his car was a little 4 cylinder.

SAPD actually came looking for him while he was on hold waiting for 911 to answer. So 15 minutes after the accident, they already had officers at the house the car had gone to, which is pretty amazing. They did give him the name, address and insurance info. (He said he didn't want to give it to me until I had calmed down.)

I bet the person who hit him nearly crapped themselves when SAPD showed up right after they got home. That's some small consolation...looks like we'll be car shopping this afternoon. I didn't realize how much of the car was plastic (fiberglass?) but it's got cracks all over it on both sides and the driver's window won't roll up and the rear door on the driver's side won't open.

[sapphire]

Thank God he's OK. This town amazes me with the number of people who hit and run. I was hit by an 18-wheeler out on 281 one morning, in the rain, and went spinning across 3 lanes of traffic.....truck driver kept on going! No regard for me or anyone else on the road. I still can't believe I made it out alive. My little Mazda was totalled but I had not a scratch!

It's just another thing that should be "stickied" in my opinion. Lack of auto insurance is just as prevalent as drunk driving. Really, San Antonio, can we not do ANY better than this?