I got hit today...
 

So yeah I was on my way to school, pulling up to a red light, and this guy in a white caravan cuts me off and hits me. No major damage done--just blemishes. However the guy in the caravan ran away, so I filed a police report for a hit and run. I have a witness and license plate number, so he's screwed. What should I do now? j0n said get an over estimated estimate so this way I can get a posi and gears...any other suggestions? lol :twisted:

that sucks bro,get that bastard

Re: I got hit today...
 

Do it. That sucks man. I hope everything gets fixed soon.

its just like a scratch--but i have to find the bastard...cause well.....im greedy lol

jsut a scratch? hmmm, taht clearly needs to be taken down to a bare panel, smoothed, then pianted again. i can see it from here. easily a $1K + job :)

later
tim

:stupid:

yeah well now i just have to find the guy on monday lol and my car wont be so slow anymore lol :twisted:

wut'd u say tim? 4.88s? wha?:lol:

:stupid: :cheers:

later
tim

Fiberglass does crack and buckle under the surface paint so it may need replacing.

I wouldn't try an over-estimated claim, especially after I posted about it on the internet. NJ is being really serious about insurance fraud these days and what you are doing could be classified.

Good luck with the guy. Hit and Run= NONO. 5 points I believe.

its only 2 points--but it would be 8 if i was hurt lol...ill find him monday though

i could sworn u said ur neck was hurtin... :lol:

well i did hurt my back at basketball today hah

that is if the hit and run is the only thing they charge him with. usually they will compound other charges in to amke it mroe fun for the dumb ass. a reckless/careless is an easy add on, not to mention the failure to yield and possible speeding if a single witness says it looked liek he was going too fast.
basically, you and the cops could make his world suck massively. a single hit and run can turn into enough points to risk the license of a driver with no previous accidents.

later
tim

didnt even think about that, reckless is 5 pts according to the driver's manual so he should easily get 7 --maybe another 2 for failure to give way to a passing vehicle. I already know hes screwed, I just have to find them lol

just realized that my headlight motor is broken--woooo more money once i catch the fool

When you say "filed a police report", do you mean you filed charges against him? Because it would basically be a citizen's complaint. I speak from experience because I've taken someone to court in the past for careless driving (she backed into my car, and really pissed me off about the whole situation... the complaint was necessary). Speeding would probably not be a possibility, even if the witness claims the guy was going what "appeared" to be fast; no solid proof for that one. With a witness though, you could probably nab the guy for careless too, if the witness' story holds up to it.

Ultimately, let's hope the witness does want to help, because if you do end up nabbing the guy, it may become a long drawn out court process if the guy wants to fight you on it (and getting witnesses into court can be a pain in the ass). If you go to court and the witness does not show, the guy that hit you could claim that there isn't enough evidence to establish what's called a "prima facie" case ("prima facie" means "at first sight" in latin I believe). Basically what that means, is without a witness, you may not have enough proof that what you got (plate #, car type, etc) is really the person you're trying to nab. (A good example... I got a parking ticket squashed in NYC, because I drive a convertible, yet covertible is not an option to select on the ticket. The cop checked off "Sedan". I got out of the parking ticket, because the cop would not have enough evidence to establish a "prima facie" case; it is possible/reasonable doubt that he could have mistakenly taken down my plate # but actually saw a sedan or something parked in the spot.

Hope this makes some sense... I've gone to court over a hit-and-run driver myself before in the past (the guy was also drunk that hit me). I don't how you're going about getting the guy's info, or if the police gave it to you or whatnot, but I know people that could run the plate for you if you'd like. If you want to discuss more of your options for legally nabbing this guy, just let me know.

~Joe

hopefully ill see his car on monday and ill take pictures of the marks and license plate with my phone or something, so theres definately proof--as for the police report, i just reported the hit and run as of now, i still have to find the guy so we'll see what happens but if i do find him ill try to contact you so i know how to go about screwing him royally lol

hey mark just so you know if you wanna meet up with joe(jpizzi) to discuss some possible plans of action he lives approximately 5 mintues from u:wink:

yeah i know where middlesex is you ass

well the witness actually came up to me in my school parking lot to give me all of her information and stuff so she would definately go to court...the guy also cut her off lol so yeah he'll get a wrekless hah

Well,

Witnesses don't know what they get themselves into... there are a number of court appearances they'll have to show up for. The first hearing, which they need to show up for just for a few minutes, then the hearing, then possibly trial, etc. etc. etc...

As much as I like helping people, I would not want to be a witness if not necessary... it is a pain in the ass, and it wastes your time. (It's not like you benefit from it, other than being a good samaritan you know?)


~Joe

yeah i know, but shes nice and i dont think she would mind if i sued him lol, cause yeah he almost hit him--as a gesture of appreciation i would give her something for her time...first i have to find the guy lol

if both sides are willing to agree to it you can have a taped witness statement and interview. it is a little system a lot of courts are using now to help take up less of a witnesses time.
basically they get examined and cross examed under oath in front of a judge jsut like normal, but it is all taped. it can then be shown to a jury or another judge if need be.
only problem is that most defense attornies would prefer it to be as difficult for a witness as possible.

later
tim

thats a pretty good idea tim--ill keep that in mind