Accident advice

[cedeng]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I think I know the outcome here, but I'm looking for advice.

I was rear-ended at a stopsign two days ago.

It SEEMED to be very minor damage - minor enough that I could not see it - but it seemed a substantial impact.

Anyway, it was pouring down rain, rush hour, and we just swapped info and took off. I immediately called my insurance rep., who said I have 24 hours to file a police report here.

Next morning, I go to the police station, where they basically took a record of things, but no real report, as "they can't make a report unless you call them to the scene."

Well - you can guess what happened. His contact info was bogus. I DO have his license plate number.

Damage is about $500 (i got the estimate), and now my back and neck are hurting (seriously - I know that sounds silly - but he directly hit the trailer hitch receiver, so the bumper took nearly none of the impact, and my back took it all. )

So - my guess is - he's uninsured. I'm going to get zero satisfaction from him no matter what I do.

1. Is this worth tracking him down? We're a small town, I'm sure someone can find him...
2. If he has no insurance, what's the point?
3. Has he done anything illegal, so the police can help me track him down?
4. Yes, I know, ALWAYS call the police. But many communities now have the official policy of not calling unless there's real damage or injury. I didn't call.
5. Anything else? I can pay my deductible and get me fixed up, and (probably) the backache will subside. Live and learn, I guess...

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[justalayman]

1. Is this worth tracking him down? We're a small town, I'm sure someone can find him...

no way for anybody here to know

2. If he has no insurance, what's the point?

maybe he is independently wealthy and has $12M in the bank.

3. Has he done anything illegal, so the police can help me track him down?

such as? You failed to call the police too, right? If he broke the law, so did you.

4. Yes, I know, ALWAYS call the police. But many communities now have the official policy of not calling unless there's real damage or injury. I didn't call.

my rule is to always call the police. If they are not going to come to the scene, then I deal with it. Otherwise I want the police to report to the scene and make a report.

 

[cedeng]

Thanks for the response...

Not calling the police is not the potentially illegal part. There is no crime there, the local police prefer you don't call unless there is an injury or serious damage. They have actual crime to fight, murder and rape and arson and so forth, and to get a cop to a fender bender could take hours, if ever. Nevertheless, if you do not call, you cannot (later on) get a report.

The crime (if any) would be providing me with false information to evade responsibility.

Of course he could be independently wealthy, but his bankruptcy and foreclosure on the local court records doesn't bode well for that. It's also possible that he won the lotto since then.

Barring those unlikely things - does anyone have any useful insight, or am I just...going to live with it?

 

[justalayman]

Not calling the police is not the potentially illegal part. There is no crime there, the local police prefer you don't call unless there is an injury or serious damage. They have actual crime to fight, murder and rape and arson and so forth, and to get a cop to a fender bender could take hours, if ever. Nevertheless, if you do not call, you cannot (later on) get a report.

the person answering the phone's job is to answer the phone.

The crime (if any) would be providing me with false information to evade responsibility.

what did he give you that was bogus? Apparently he gave you enough for you to check out his BK.

 

[cedeng]

His phone number is certainly bogus. His address might be (it looked unoccupied when I drove by).

Anyway, hindsight, water under the bridge, and all that.

What - if anything - can/should I do at this point?

 

[anearthw]

I've worked in a police front counter/as a dispatcher. Either there is a police report or there is not. You gave a record of information, there is a police report. It is obviously not as detailed as one where a police officer attends, but it still exists. You need to call back and speak with a supervisor for clarification, because I suspect you may have misunderstood what happened there. You should receive a police report number and then forward that to your insurance.

You are putting the cart before the horse, if you want anything to happen here, you need to report it to the proper agencies and then let them do what they need to do. You should have contacted the police immediately roadside for assistance - if they wanted to decline to attend while you were still at the scene, they would have done that. You are going about this making too many assumptions about things.

 

[cedeng]

Again, appreciate the input...

I cannot undo what I did. I should have called, we're all in agreement. That ship has sailed. Let's move on.

The police do indeed have a record of it, but just the facts, and just my side of the facts. They declined to call it an accident report, as that requires a witnessing officer (to witness the statements of BOTH parties, not witness the accident). They were quite clear - if my insurance company calls for an "accident report" - there won't be one. There will, however, be a record of the event and my statement.

I called my insurance agent first, instead of the police, and that was my mistake.

My insurance company took the contact info - of the other guy - and could not reach him. They gave up. They called me to ask if I'll be repairing my own car (less deductible). Otherwise, they're done with this situation. I'm not sure which cart/horse I am putting first out of order.

I have done everything they asked me to do, INCLUDING call the police within 24 hours.

My question remains - what, if anything, can/should I do now?

 

[anearthw]

Did you advise the police that you were given false information at the scene of the accident?

 

[cedeng]

No - because I did not know it was false at the time.

It was the insurance companies job to locate him (not mine) while I went to the police. Only 8 hours later did they call to tell me No Luck Finding Him.

 

[Zigner]

No - because I did not know it was false at the time.

It was the insurance companies job to locate him (not mine) while I went to the police. Only 8 hours later did they call to tell me No Luck Finding Him.

Why haven't you called the police back to report the revelation?

 

[anearthw]

Okay, so then call the police back and advise them that you were given false information at an accident, and ask to make a criminal complaint.

 

[cedeng]

That is precisely my question - is this a crime of sorts? And if so, I should obviously call the police NOW.

 

[anearthw]

Maybe. Seriously, I don't understand why you don't just call back the police and ask them?

 

[ecmst12]

The police can identify at least the owner of the car (if not the driver) and the insurance company at the time of registration (though it may have lapsed since then) by the license plate number. So do that. Costs you nothing. If there was no insurance, that's certainly illegal in itself.

 

[cedeng]

I called the police and, from a detective no less, I heard today: "We can do nothing. Sorry. Your insurance company should be able to find him using his plates."

(I did not "misunderstand" yesterday or similar. He was crystal clear then - and again today.)

My insurance company: "We cannot use plates to find people. Sorry."

My doctor: "I'm off today, see ya Monday."

So - I can pay the deductible myself, if I want my car fixed AND my dr. bill paid (even if it's just an office visit).

Or I can do NOTHING, which is what I was doing when I posted this.

My original question stands: I have a damaged car, a missing driver who rear ended me, zero help from the police, and a sore back.

What is my next step?