@#$&$#% Hit-n-run driver

[tom4bren]

I'd be a basket case if I'd been driving the VX ... thank God I wasn't.

This morning I got a SOLID hit from behind. It was a total surprise since the big rig behind me was quite a ways back. Some guy/gal in a little silver car decided to change lanes way too fast & slammed into my right rear corner (never saw him/her coming). Just as I was about to pull onto the shoulder, there he/she was passing me on the shoulder. I pulled off behind him/her & came to a stop but he/she never did. He/she just kept driving on the shoulder until he/she disappeared around the bend. I didn't realize that he/she wasn't going to stop so by the time I tried to read the license plate, they was too far away. At that time I didn't even know what kind of car it was.

After I called the State Police, I went back & pulled the pieces of his/her car out of the travel lanes (too bad the front license plate wasn't included). Two of the parts had Mazda stamped on them.

There's probably not a snowball chance in hell of the Police ever catching them but I saved the pieces of the car just in case.

Haven't called the insurance company yet but I'll hold off for a while on the repairs to see if they do catch anyone.

So ... in your best Hew Haw voice, sing with me:

"... if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all ... "

I'll rig up a tail light tonight so I can keep driving the Eclipse till I figure out what's going to happen.

[Vendetta]

Dang, sorry to hear it. It's all Monday morning QB'ing here, but rigs often have dash cams installed. If you can find that rig (remember the name?) perhaps it caught the plate number, perhaps even the hit? And I'm guessing "hot pursuit" Rosco P. Coltrane-style wasn't an option, eh?
-V

[JAMAS]

I might have a rear bumper for you.

Its the stock (mint, mint condition) rear bumper from my 2003 spyder eclipse gt

Its even the same color.

[44ficus44]

I got rearended by a wall... I swear it was speeding..... but nobody though I was telling the truth... dam. but whats important is that you and you VX is ok :) cuz if it were the vx.. ide speed buttoned his car down a cliff hajaha

[vt_maverick]

Sorry to hear it Tom, at least it wasn't the VX! Maybe you should rig up a bumper bar for all your cars...

[tom4bren]

If you can find that rig (remember the name?)

It all happened too fast. I couldn't even tell if the other driver was male or female. I'll be calling the State Police today before I file the insurance claim to see if they had any luck in finding the other guy (I assume they didn't since I haven't gotten a call from them). I'll also ask them about traffic cameras in the area.


I might have a rear bumper for you.

U Da Man!!!


I got rearended by a wall... I swear it was speeding..... but nobody though I was telling the truth... dam. but whats important is that you and you VX is ok :) cuz if it were the vx.. ide speed buttoned his car down a cliff hajaha

Insurance adjuster quote:

"What do you mean the accident wasn't your fault? You own both vehicles and the accident happened in your driveway."


Maybe you should rig up a bumper bar for all your cars...

The thought crossed my mind ... but it wouldn't have helped. It was a LV taxi/KAT situation. He would have effectively avoided the bumper & just caught the tail light.

If I'd known then what I know now, I would have pinned him against the Jersey Barrier (couldn't have caused any more damage than what had already been done). 'Honest officer, he performed a very effective pit maneuver on me and the cars just ended up against the wall'

Here's a few of the pix I took last night when I got home. I did add a set of mag mount tow lights I had so that I'm legal for driving it till insurance figures it all out.


http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG_2042.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG_2038.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG_2037.JPG

[JAMAS]

WOW....that's a lot more damage than I thought. How the heck do you do that much damage and drive off. What a jerk.

[tom4bren]

How the heck do you do that much damage and drive off. What a jerk.

True Dat.

I looked for signs of coolant or shredded tire as I left the scene ... NUTIN!

Is it bad of me to hope that it was some snot nosed kid driving Daddy's car ... & Daddy beat the crap out of him???

[Vendetta]

Is it bad of me to hope that it was some snot nosed kid driving Daddy's car ... & Daddy beat the crap out of him???

Tom, shame on you. That is really awful to hope that Daddy wallops the kid...


...when YOU should be the one to have the pleasure!
-V

[LittleBeast]

Good thing they didn't damage that custom two tone paint job on the roof and top of fender ;-P

But in all seriousness I am glad you are ok, and I would have run that guy down and call him into account!

[tom4bren]

Good thing they didn't damage that custom two tone paint job on the roof and top of fender ;-P

Yah, I missed out on the Mitsubishi paint recall by 1 month:slap:

But in all seriousness I am glad you are ok, and I would have run that guy down and call him into account!

The thought crossed my mind ... till I reminded myself that I could then be charged with 'Leaving the Scene' too + vehicular assault + assault & battery.


:)

[44ficus44]

hajaha yea woulda been funny to explain that one to the insurance hajaha

[JAMAS]

What Mitsubishi Paint Recall????

Edit:
Nevermind. I just read. Its only related to black paint.


However, I am willing to bet in order to repair the damage, the insurance will paint your whole car to match. Like when 10 shingles fall off your roof and they replace the whole thing so it will all match those 10 new shingles.

[Chopper]

I didn't read very closely, and there was about 2 minutes of,;oob;:_crying::freek: "lump in throat'', "my heart's breaking for ya", reading, before about pic three....I realize I'm looking at a %!#@* Eclipse!:_huh::_wtf::yes::_beer::dan_ban::dan_ban: :clap::jump::LineWave::dance::dance::dance:
Nothing against the Mitsi you understand....

The lawyer told me, in a hit n run....YOU DON'T WANT THEM CAUGHT!
They've no insurance...are likely headed to the lockup for something....and in any case, are almost always broke. You'd be a worse off loser....I guess your insurance (and uninsured motorist coverage) work best, when they keep on going


**:bwgy: Damnit I'm glad the Eclipse took that hit, and not the Isuzu.....They may have killed it for that.

Peace Bra

[JAMAS]

Hey....Come on.:bwgy: The Mitsubishi is a good partner car to the VX.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/Spyder2.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13103)

I think there is another member or two that have a Mitsubishi as a partner car.


You might be right about not finding the other person. Unless the other person is a kid more afraid of getting in trouble than having to pay the insurance.

[tom4bren]

...when YOU should be the one to have the pleasure!

True Dat!


Its only related to black paint.

Yah, & they only paid for 1/2 the paint job. At the time of the recall, I'd already rattlecanned the roof so they prolly would've found a way to weazle out of even 1/2.


The lawyer told me, in a hit n run....YOU DON'T WANT THEM CAUGHT!
They've no insurance...are likely headed to the lockup for something....and in any case, are almost always broke. You'd be a worse off loser....I guess your insurance (and uninsured motorist coverage) work best, when they keep on going

I wouldn't have been any more worser off if he'd been caught ... & didn't have insurance. My collision & uninsured coverage would have picked it up the same as it is now ... & the satisfaction of seeing them go to jail would have been great.

BTW, thank God for the uninsured motorist coverage - it dropped my deductable from $1G down to $200.


I think there is another member or two that have a Mitsubishi as a partner car.

Yah, Bren & I were talking about that last night. There does seem to be a tendancy towards those complementary vehicles.

[EVO]

Bingo!! Gotta Love those Diamond Star Motors (DSM) they have been great cars and Giant Killers for years!! Sorry to hear some sack POS Hit and Ran on you. But your friends attorney is correct. Got hit by a uninsured, indigent kid. Reported to my insurance and they fixed my van, and did not renew my insurance. It went down as a claim and points against me as they could not get anything out of a uninsured motorist with no job!! That was over 30 years ago and that insurance company now wants my business again!! Guess what I do with their solicitation!! LOL!!

[FlyingV77]

ask for help looking for witnesses on craigslist.

[44ficus44]

crap just saw the pics... that was more of a slap.. not really a kiss....ouch

[tom4bren]

I got a call from the body shop. They submitted their estimate at $3500 for repairs. I rekin since the KBB is only $3000 for the car that the insurance company is going to total it ... but they haven't called yet.

I went yesterday to get a copy of the police report (Trooper said it was ready) but they said that it had been returned for corrections. I'll try again on Friday.

Trooper also said that when he left the scene of my accident, that he responded to another hit-n-run ... but it wasn't the same car. The victim in that crash was driving a brand new Impala with less than 2K miles.

[tom4bren]

Yep. Totalled. I'll be dropping it off at the auction house on Friday. Insurance will be cutting me a check next week.

I stripped it down over the weekend. Mostly just accumulated crap in the car but I did pull off the trailer hitch, sattelite radio, on board battery charger.

[tom4bren]

The black Eclipse is No-Mo. As soon as the USAA pays out, I'll be shopping for a new (2 me) DD.

Boy found me a lead on a SCHWEET Amigo but the guy never responded.

[tom4bren]

I'm going to go look at this one tonight:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/3893654527.html

Thoughts?

I was hoping for a 4 banger to save on gas with my 100 mi daily commute but this just looks too sweet to pass up. I like the removable hard top & the 5 speed.

[JAMAS]

That looks like a great deal!

[tom4bren]

Yah, KBB lists it for $1G more.

I'll still try to talk him down to $3000 since that's what the insurance settlement was.

[JAMAS]

Yeah, it seems like he is willing to deal.

...and throw in a bunch of extras.

[tom4bren]

& mostest important ... Wifey likes the Amigo. She had one but I got sammiched in it & it was totalled (musta been about 9 years ago because that's when she ended up with the 04 Eclipse rag top).

Seller may be military civilian and looking to sell it for cash to carry him through the furlough.

[tom4bren]

I pulled the trigger on the Amigo last night. He wouldn't budge on price even though the CL add said OBO. Still a great deal though. I'll be getting the original rims with tires mounted with it so that'll buy me some time in replacing the tires on Boy's Ebony.

[tom4bren]

I'll be picking up my 'new 2 me' 1999 Amigo tomorrow afternoon. Pix to follow.:_steering

[JAMAS]

I'll be picking up my 'new 2 me' 1999 Amigo tomorrow afternoon. Pix to follow.:_steering

Awesome!