I'll make this short, but it's not sweet. My sister was waiting to pull into our house but couldn't go because a lady was crossing the driveway so she waited on the street. A 16 year with his learner's permit slams into the back of her before she has any time to react. His mother in the car refuses to give my sister their insurance info or license number before she has a chance to talk it over with her husband. My sister suffered minor whiplash as result. By the time she called the police it was too late for them to do anything about them not giving their info. The next woman calls and gives us her "policy number" and we let our insurance know about the incident. Damage isn't horrible but seems like the mufflers are bent, the trunk doesn't close and the right side panel is not straight because the right rear door wont open properly. Enjoy the pics.

 

sue sue sue... thats considered a hit and run

 

Glad your sister is (relatively) okay. It does sound like this will qualify as a hit and run.

Get ready for what will likely be a long, drawn out process trying to get compensation for your damages. My TL was involved in a hit and run (right in front of my house as well, except my car was parked with no one in it) three weeks ago, and I still haven't gotten my check. And I had an eye witness to the accident, so that really strengthened my case, but the insurance company for the felon in my accident is still doing their investigation to determine guilt (their policyholder is disputing the claim).

Did an eye witness see the accident? Good luck to you and your family.

 

The kid having his learners permit is no excuse. I haven't as much as run over a curb and I don't exactly drive like a grandmother.

Anyway, I would have demanded info or threatened to call the police if it wasn't given up, as that could suggest they were uninsured which is many states is illegal.

The problem with this is it looks like they did a fair amount of damage, as it threw the body(and possibly the frame) out of alignment.

Mike

 

I have to ask why your sister didn't call the police as soon as the accident happened ?

 

Werd. So did you manage to get any info on this 16 yr old or his mother? If not, be prepared to pay out of your own pockets.

 

Looks like the kid got away from getting a ticket. Smart move on his mom's part.

Good for the kid, bad for your sister. Should've called the cops right away, and if they refused to stay, take note of the license plate. Then it's considered fleeing the scene of the accident. Now it sounds like there's no police report to determine who's at fault.

 

 

Sorry to hear what happened but

 

same here

 

So, did your sister give the lady her info but the lady with the kid did not give your sister any info? If the lady refused to give ANY info (name, drivers lic#, phone number, etc), and you only got her plate number as she drove away, it may still be considered hit and run if they try to twist the story around on your sister. Refusal to give info should have triggered a polics call immediately.
When my wife was rear ended, the girl tried to give her fake info without any proof (show id, registration, etc), I took my phone out of my pocket and told her to produce valid ID or 911 is the next thing I am going to do. The ID came out pretty quick after that.
The funny thing is that legally I would have been in better shape if I let her give me the fake info without any validation and just took her plate down. The reason being is that the girl tried to twist the story around and it took a few months for the insurance to unravel her lies. The insurance and Police told me if I just let her drive away and took her plate # down, they would have prosecuted her for hit and run and legally she would have been 100% at fault regardless of what actually happened and anything she would have said would have been useless in court.

 

By the way, it looks like this one has frame damage. I am not sure if your state allows you to get compensation for diminished value because this car will never be worth the same as before the accident.

 

sucks..sorry to hear what happened. If i was rear ended, i would never let the other person leave...i would call the cops asap.

sucks, give us some updates

 

go for the max, if it is a hit n run, that is going to get ugly and you should have no problem in the courts!

 

OK heres the deal. In the heat of the moment, my sister wasn't thinking straight, and neither was my mother, they were both obviously very pissed about the whole thing. My sis called the police at the scene but they didnt come because no one was seriously hurt. She was given an incident number. About an hour later she called the police again because the lady refused to give their info, but by that time the cops said it was too late to do anything. We got a call from them the next morning with their policy number. We are supposed to get a call Tuesday with more info from our agent.

We've been driving the car around town a few times since and it drives fine, other than a louder exhaust note probably from a leak in the system. If there is frame damage, is the car still repairable? And, it is still worth pushing a lawsuit, or is it just not worth it?

 

Dude, the cops in your town need to start actually doing their jobs!

 

Your car will be repaired, that is not that bad, and since it is not that old, it will not be totalled, it is way cheaper to fix it, even if it costs 10,000, it will be fixed. As long as the car is fixed and your sister is treated properly, I would not waste time with a lawsuit.

 

I would call the cops even if someone as much as dings my door and I happen to catch him or her, hope all goes your sister's way...good luck..

 

 

I am not sure if your state allows you to get compensation for diminished value because this car will never be worth the same as before the accident.
How you claimed diminished value?from insurance company?

 

How you claim compensation for diminished value? From insurance company?

 

The car is repairable and a law suit is not worth the trouble unless the insurance companies are playing games.
Regarding diminished value, I live in a state which does not allow it so I have no experience in getting compensation for it. Honestly, I am not sure if any state/county allows it but diminished value is a reality when you try to sell a badly wrecked car. But logically, I would think that you would either make a claim with the insurance company or you sue them.

 

I opened up the trunk and found this:



I don't know if this is part of the frame/subframe, but it looks like a big part to replace.
Here are some more




It looks like in this one that the right muffler was bent upward with the bumper

 

Don't know what the cops in Rexdale are smoking... but you should have

taken the car to the nearest accident reporting centre ASAP. Keep the

photos you have taken... they will come in handy should you proceed to

file a claim in small claims court. And, by the way, that mom, snowballed

your sister. No ifs ands or buts, get to a small claims court and

take the mom to court. She is the person who refused to release their

insurance information. And for what.. to talk it over with her husband. What's

he going to do except to concoct some c&b story! Check your time limits for

filing a claim in small claims court. And don't forget pain an suffering. That might

mean a move to provincal courts for anything claimed above $5000.00

Speak up and don't let them get away with this. I think you have more damage to the TL than you know.


Gord

 

Ewww.. That definetly looks like you have frame damage from the trunk floor. They will not replace the trunk floor. They will just try to smooth it out a bit when they pull your frame but anyone inspecting your car that has 'some'knowledge when you sell it will definetly key off of the trunk floor as frame damage.

Sorry about that but if I was in the market for a used car and I saw the trunk floor had been wrinkled at all, I wuold immedialtey walk away from the deal.

Wrinkled trunk floor = serious accident

 

We got the call from the agent and we were directed to a nearby body shop that our dealer highly recommends. I was skeptical about this place but apparently this is certified by the dealer. The owner said around $5k just by looking out the window, and we didn't even tell him about the trunk floor. Should take a couple weeks, maybe more if they find more suprises once they jack it up. We got a G6 as a rental, and boy do I already miss the TL!

 

Hey Gord,

My mom and sis did go to the vehicle reporting centre, but while the guy was snapping some pics, he realized we moved to Vaughan, and told us to go to the reporting centre in Richmond Hill. My dad and sis went the next day. Today the insurance agent directed my sis to the injury line, so she'll be getting some forms to fill out, etc. We honestly don't want to waste our time with all the legalities of this, but if it means big bucks, why not. I'll probably talk to a lawyer at my golf club and get some advice from him. Thanks a lot, and if you have anymore suggestions, I'm all ears!

 

I thought I would add to this as something very similar happen to my wife.

While pulling out of a friend’s house her passengers side was t-boned by a car going about 35 mile-an-hour. The woman driving the car would not give any information until her boyfriend met her, so she took down her plate and called the police. While awaiting the police her boyfriend showed up yelled a little and they took off.

Police showed and report was filed. We found out that the car did not belong to her or he and the owner did not have insurance.

6 months later, after a lot of complaining to the insurance company about deductibles and such we ended up out of pocket for all claims as “we do not believe you were in an accident” (even though the was a police report).

Goes to show even with the report you still could be screwed. (It would have been little different if I was driving I can assure you.)

BTW this is the car we traded in for our TL

 

Notoerance,

If that happened, that is when you call the insurance commissioner for your state and file a complaint and if nothing happens, sue your insurance company. How would their lawyer state the accident did not happen if you have the police report and supoena the officer to testify. Things would change quickly then but I would look for a new insurance company either way.

 

Well we got the car back today! 23 days later. Total damage: $7900. Car looks like new and drives pretty much the same. We're just happy we got our baby home again.

 

Just my experience. I've learned my lesson. No matter how small the accident, call the police. This happened to my old Accord. SOme idiot zips past me and scrapes my car slightly, but also hitting my side mirror. I totally smell alcohol on his breath and there's a cop car 200 feet away pulling someone else over. We talk it out in a parking lot and he gives me his insurance info. When I make my statement to his insurance company, he says I tried to get into his lane and it was MY fault. Without a police report, my claim is useless. Luckily it was just a small dent in the front fender.. but no matter what, I will involve the police from now on.