LNHeart

That is awful, and you got alot of damage in the radiator becuase of not having the bumper on. Btw i notice a harsh brake skid fallowing your front tires under your side skirt as if you did brake then let go for like two feet.

I think he glanced back but didnt look and since that thing is HUGE he didnt see you back there, it's just a suposition. I almost got ran over to the side of the road twice by a bus and by a huge truck like that cause they didnt see my low tib. mad.gif

Caj Darkmoon

My old sentra go messed up (bent frame behind headlights, bent hood, hold in bumper from exhaust pipe) by a truck that backed up into it in a parking lot without seeing it, so it can definitely happen.

Bullfrog

I WANT A TWINKY NOW!!!!!!! TURN AROUND!!!
good god, thats a fat person, no wonder they need such a big truck.

I would also do some measurements of the tire tracks and draw up a small mock up. There has got to be some way to prove from the damage that it was cause by a force coming into your car not you hitting something.

the driver should have to take a polygraph as well. He could also be charged with obstruction of justice and lying to the police.

Mr. Muffin

im sure the bumper WAS on, lol...

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd98/ca...s/Photo0174.jpg
^^in that pic u can see that the BACK tire was pushed farther back from the skid.

hopefully her insurance will cover u, the truck hardly had a scratch sad.gif

Rixshark

If you ran into him, the car would have nose dived and the hitch would have hit around the point of your hood latch, completely mangling the hood, rad support and the top of the rad. Looking at the pics, its much lower....not to mention the lack of skid marks as you pointed out. Were there any witnesses?



You're not at fault for the accident, the driver of the truck is. Therefore your insurance wouldn't come into play. He caused, its his (insurance company's) problem.



Did you happen to mention this to the cops?



Makes me want to cry.....



I totally agree with you on that one. I always leave EXTRA distance when following a truck that still has the ball in. My dad's Avalanche was rear ended by a "Paris Hilton Wannabe" when her dog jumped on her lap while she was driving. Luckily he had taken the receiver off, because the way she hit him, it probably would have bent the hitch downward and cause some frame issues. Luckily the bumper took most of the blow.

capn tibs

thank you everyone for your support and comments, I could use all the moral support after this.

Dddude- Thanks so much for making me laugh, I really needed to laugh

LNHeart- The only skid near my car was in front of the rear tire actually and was to the left and much wider then my tire, also very easily noticed that it is not fresh. I do see how this was probably just a simple mistake of the guy has too big of a truck and couldn't see me easily. However, he could see me because I could see his face in the rear view...he just never looked in it until his hitch was snacking on my radiator. Also, I had the bumper on but no reinforcement, even so his hitch was higher than our rebar so I would have suffered more damage to the bumper but no difference in damage to the rad, core support, and hood.

Bullfrog- This is not that kind of world. Cops do not care and he will remain uncited. Lie detectors are worthless to any of the insurance companies that will get involved and justice is for those who hold vengence. Honestly the guy made a simple mistake, and his insurance would cover him but he tried to lie so who knows if it will. My feeling on these things is whether you believe in God or not you must believe Karma takes a place in our world and will visit him.

For me it's just find out what is going to happen insurance wise. The cop told me insurance agents are experts a understanding accidents from vehicle damage and she would note all that she noticed. Hopefully she was right. I took lots of pics as you guys can see but I don't know what happens from here. I play the waiting game basically to find out who does get put at fault and who's insurance will cover this.

As far as the damages go, I know how to deal with all of it because here is a pic of my car one year ago...

I fixed it all myself, there is a thread about it and that accident was actually my fault. I'm will always admit when I am wrong or make a mistake but here I was doing everything right. I gave him plenty of room and was completely stopped for about 10 seconds behind him before he ever started backing up. I'm still shocked and in dismay I guess. I really won't be able to stop thinking about it until I get an answer from the insurance companys.

majik

Did you get the officer's information? I'd try to contact him and say you wish to file a police report so you can make the insurance process easier. You need to file a police report, that will help tons when dealing with insurance. If you can't get that officer, or don't know who it was, go to the police station and file the report. Depending on the size of the city, they may be able to determine which officer it was. Get his information and say he arrived at the scene and spoke with the parties involved. His 'professional opinion' will be highly considered by insurance.

When you talk with insurance, be AS INFORMATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE as possible. When they handle claims on the phone, they have to make a judgement call on whether you're lying or not. Having plenty of information, being quick to answer, and being CONFIDENT in your responses will be HUGE.

Depending on your local laws, I'm fairly certain if you want to file a police report, they can't refuse. You might not be able to have it done by that specific officer (I would TRY), but at least get his information to provide to insurance so they can contact him. If you can some way let him know you'll be filing and that you're getting his info, he may be more able to remember the accident for another week or two when insurance calls. Otherwise, if insurance calls him out of the blue, he may not remember that specific incident.

Bullfrog

Stupid question on my part, did you use your horn at any point?

majik

BE CONFIDENT:

No: "i think"
No: "maybe"
No: "could have been..."

Be Specific:
"Travelling eastbound on Main St. in the left turn lane to turn on to North Street"
"Accident happened between 3:30 and 3:45" (if you don't know, don't say "i think" but give a reasonable time frame)
"Vehicle was a dark Dodge truck" - if you don't know the model, year, or specifics, play dumb with cars, say you aren't familiar with dodge trucks or something... you aren't expected or anticipated to be a vehicle expert.

Did you call police or did he? If you did, state that clearly. If you insisted, let them know that. The fact that YOU had police called shows more innocence.

Let them know that the police did not issue any citations (they'll ask) but that the officer made it clear that he felt the truck was at fault.

MAYBE: It might be good to provide possible explanation for the trucks actions. "He may have decided to continue on Main Street instead of making the left turn, or reversed because he didn't think he could safely make it out of the intersection before the light changed."

DO: Offer to e-mail pictures of the location where the accident occurred, pictures of your car before and after, etc. This provides more evidence to your innocence.

Honestly... insurance should NOT care about a $2,500 claim. They might just pay it to avoid dealing with the hassle. $2,500 seriously is NOTHING for insurance companies... it's the medical claims they really care to dispute.

I've been dealing with the insurance company (Allstate) for the last 4 months because somebody rear ended us and injured my wife. I'm giving you ideas and suggestions from experience. I was complimented on my attention to detail and specifics provided regarding the accident, and they told me they had absolutely no reason to question my claim, even though the lady who hit us fled from the scene and I did not have a police report, so it was simply my word against hers.

capn tibs

bull- by the time i realized he wasn't going to stop it was too late. I mean the guy had so much freakin room I never expected him to just back into me.

Maj- I know all the insurance stuff and how to handle things as far as what to say, not to say, and to be sure and confident in all my answers. I did have the officer file a report so that will help me and probably be the deciding factor really. I really appreciate you putting all that info up and luckily I already knew most of this stuff because of last years experience. It's always good to rerun that stuff through your head tho to make sure you don't lose confidence or anything and to remind yourself to think before giving responses. I've been making sure of following it all so that hopefully I will not get screwed