DUI+hit & run= Screwed

[4381821]

I came back from a laboratory yesterday morning(9:30) to find my car backed into my brother's saab, which was a good 10 feet below where I had parked...

I thought my emergency break must have broke and the car rolled back into it, so immediately went to move it to get the tension off his. then things are knocked around on the inside, and when I try to drive up, I getting grinding noises...

when I looked at the front of the car, it looked like this

and the front end of a white pontiac was in/beneath it. that pretty much tipped me off as to what had plowed it into the saab and up onto the sidewalk.

turns out the driver is a 27 year old Jeremy AmericanHorse, and this is his second DUI. he also hit 8 other cars before mine. also, it wasn't his car, nor was there any insurance.

between school and work, I really don't have time to phuck around with this garbage now. school doesn't pay itself, nor does the rent. of course I only had liability on that car, since it cost me a whopping $955 when I bought it, and my insurance is darn near close to that a year(I'm still 18). Luckily my Z was spared as I had her parked off street because I'm working with it when the weather provides...

Mr. American Horse is most likely going to be incarcerated for some time. His mommy owned the car, but she can't seem to be reached by the police. All I was told is that she lives by or on Pine Ridge Reservation around here. Of the other 8 victims, 1 had full coverage. the rest liability. Mr. American Horse racked up an estimated $25,000 worth of damage for the vehicles he hit.

Wants a guy to do here? Pine Ridge is labeled the poorest place in all of America still I believe. I believe I can get my Z back running by mid next week, but it sucks that I have to abort my work on it. I'm pretty sure trying to sue for the book value of the car would still get me nothing.

has anyone ever had to deal with any crap like this before?

[PrOxLaMuS©]

oh yeh..

ever see the pictures of my ex girlfriend crashing into me on purpose cuz she thought I had another girl in my car? And she was on Cocaine.... ( and she is only 17! Im 17 too! but no drugs for me )

[Mark Schue]

I can relate.

In 2002 I got hit head on at 55MPH in my 12 year old Toyota 4X4 by some scumbag in a beater 70s Chevy. Totalled the truck and messed up my back for 10 months. After he hits me the jerk gets out and runs on foot. Cops find him. He is DUI. His license is suspended and thus has no insurance. Cops take him to jail, book him and release him in the AM. He has not been seen since and has missed multiple court dates.

It was clear to me that it would be a waste of time and money to sue him....blood from a turnip. (No offense to turnips.) Reality would be I'd win the suit, he wouldn't pay, and this would stay on his credit as an unpaid debt....which I'm sure is one of many. No big deal to a loser.

I had comprehensive but I was still screwed. I had the truck from new and maintained it well. Insurance Co. gave me very fair price, but I could never find something as nice and that I knew the history for what the settlement was.

I also had uninsured motorist which paid for my medical bills and gave me a small settlement. You may want to check to see if you have uninsured.

So what can you do? Talk to your insurance company. Take this into account on future insurance decisions and when voting on stuff like jail space, repeat offender laws etc. Learn from it and move on. Obviously I'm not totally past my experience....

Best of luck!

[4381821]

I guess I need to find out how much more my rates would go up if I claimed uninsured, and how long they would be up. If I don't try that route, I'll get no money at all, and be out $955(cost of car). If I do though...who knows maybe my rates will only go up a few hundred a year? $200 more a year times 4 years is still only $800 extra, and the loss of the car is more than that so maybe it's worth it..

I think I would propose two settlement options in court, and rather he take the 2nd one. 1.) The book value/cost of the car. 2.) He has to do the [dollar amount of the damage]/[minimum wage] worth of community service hours. So if the damage was like $2500 total for mine then that's 400 some hours of community service.

does anyone know if there a reduction in insurance at all when you hit 19?

[Mike]

Sorry about the car! It's tough to go through something like that... I know..

Most insurance rates drop at 21 and even more at 25. If you get married they will also drop. So, unless you get married, you will have to wait a few more years.

$995 isn't much money. You could sell some of the parts on the net and make some of that back. But, if you think about the cost of most new cars, that is a cheap deal. I know that's hard to hear being 19.... But, you might want to call your insurance agent and ask him. He will be able to tell you the truth about your insurance future related to this claim.

Think of it this way, it's just a $1,000 car. You are safe, nobody you know got hurt, and things are just a bit frustrating. Take this as the best opportunity to figure out how to get the LEAST amount of loss for the LEAST amount of time. Then again, you might have a ton of time on your hands....

-- Mike

[Mike]

Originally posted by PrOxLaMuS©

ever see the pictures of my ex girlfriend crashing into me on purpose cuz she thought I had another girl in my car? And she was on Cocaine....

Just looked at the picts. Man, that's rough about the girl-wrecking-car thing... Hope things are over with that broad...

[4381821]

time is one thing I don't have an abundance of, that is for sure. Full time college + part time work = busy.

oh, and not that community or liberal arts college stuff, we're talking the engineering school where homework is a must to stay alive.

[Zvoiture]

438-1821 What is the area code in SD?

steve

[zhead240]

hey 4381821 maybe you can get hooked up with proxlamus's girlfriend.he's probable done with her.

[4381821]

my area code is 605 here, however, my username # is from something else

[Ed]

Sorry to hear about your missfortune. I know how it feels. Unfortunately I think your gonna have to chalk this one to experience. For one I don't think your gonna get any money from mister americandrunk. Just be glad you didn't get hurt and the car wasn't totaled.

On the other hand I think you can fix your car for about $200 or so bucks. Get a chain, attach one end to a BIG tree and the other to that fender. The lights you should be able to pick up at a junk yard. Those rubber pieces you can reuse. It won't be pretty but it will get you back on the road.

[sblake01]

Originally posted by Ed

On the other hand I think you can fix your car for about $200 or so bucks. Get a chain, attach one end to a BIG tree and the other to that fender. The lights you should be able to pick up at a junk yard. Those rubber pieces you can reuse. It won't be pretty but it will get you back on the road.

In the words of John McEnroe, "You can't be serious!"