Driver at DVC hit me, then LEFT!

[Madhazard]

This is my first time being in an accident so i dont really know too much about what will happen.

So I was going to school this morning on my bike, and in the parking lot, this girl in a grey car stops abruptly in front of me, so i stopped as well. In an instant i see the reverse lights go on and she starts comming at me, so i rev my engin and honk my horn trying to get her attention, but since it happened fast she didnt stop and hit into the left side of my bike, on the passeneger side of her car. I guess she saw a parking spot she couldnt let slip away. So anyway the force of her car hitting into the left side of my bike pushes my bike down on its right side prety hard, and then she stops.

I jumped off my bike and am just standing there in shock. Then she gets out and says "Are you ok!?" I say yeah, but it doesnt look like my bike is doing too well. She says "please can we not bring insurance into this?" And i say, I gotta get your information anyway. So I try to pick up my bike because i dont want it just laying on its side in the middle of the road, but cant since her car is over part of it, so i say can you pull up so i can stand my bike up? SO she gets in her car and drives away.

Luckily there was a kid in a truck who stopped, and saw the aftermath and helped me while the girl was still around (only thing is he didnt witness the accident. Just her getting into her car and driving away). So after we waited for her to come back, assuming she just went to park somewhere, we knew she wasnt going to be back, so we both combed the entire parking lot looking for her car, he in his truck and me on my bike, or any signs of her to get the liscense plate number. No such luck. Her car would have been easy to spot too since she had my paint on the right side of her bumper. after circling the parking lot for 15 minutes i told the guy not to worry about it anymore and thanks for all the help.

So i go file a police report with campus security and tell them everything that happened and give them my information. I get a call back from them a few hours later aying the girl came in and gave them her information. Thing is, she is telling police that she didnt back up, and that I hit into the back of HER!!! And then she says that she missunderstood me, and she thought i said go find a praking space, and i will find you. As if i would be able to find her easily in the sea of parked cars with my possibly non functioning bike.

The police officer said there is no way i could prove that she went into reverse or she ran. It would just be my word against hers since there was no surveilance videos of any of the parking lots.

Would I be able to use the fact that i circled the parking lot for 15 minutes searching for her with some guy and neither of us could find her OR the car around? What is going to happen with my insurance? I only have liability. Am I going to get reimbursed, or will they take her side over mine? You think I am going to suffer even more than i have over this?

Im really stressed out right now. Not a lot of damage was dont to my bike, but a lot of minor things like scratched off pain on the right fairing along with scuff marks, my right break lever is bent, my bar slider is all scraped up, my right frame slider is scraped up, my front fender is cracked from the impact, my right mirror is all scraped, my exhaust has little noticible dent, and the cowl that holds my headlight is missing a not too signifigant amount of paint, yet its still noticible.

Thanks for all the help ahead of time, and if the guy who helped me reads this (Justin), thanks sooo much for helping me as much as you did. I owe you a beer or something :)

[K-dog]

Attorney? pm summitdog or one of the other attorneys on the forum would be my suggestion. Yes, without witnesses it is almost always word vs word, but the legal system does have years of practice dealing with that too. Hope you got the random dude's info, any help will help you. Good luck.

[Mike T]

you can ask the guy who was there to write down what he saw. the honking and revving, even though not seen, would mean at least he heard it. that should be some proof if any. that sucks ass...if she wins or anything and you get nothing...i'd get payback...but thats just me and im mean :teeth :angel

and where is DVC? DeVry College?

[Madhazard]

DVC is Diablo Valley College. Its a community college in Pleasant Hill/concord.

The guy said he just saw my bike on the ground and the girl out of her car and stopped to see if i was ok. I got his number and gave it to the police. The only other piece of information i have thats credible is that we both waited for her to come back, then we both scoured the parking lot with no luck of seeing her, or her car. So her story of how she waited by her car for me to come has some holes in it.

I got most of her information, but i dont think im mean enough to get revenge.

But hey, everything has its price...
EVERYTHING....

[FalconXtreme]

Originally posted by K-dog
Attorney? pm summitdog or one of the other attorneys on the forum would be my suggestion. Yes, without witnesses it is almost always word vs word, but the legal system does have years of practice dealing with that too. Hope you got the random dude's info, any help will help you. Good luck.
+1 pm summitdog he's an awesome attonrey

[rritterson]

I can imagine an accident reconstructionist being able to prove who hit whom, but it would be very expensive and more than the cash cost to fix your bike.

You might be able to tag her with leaving the scene,but I don't know what obligations you have at the scene of an accident. Did she leave without giving you her info?

[Madhazard]

Originally posted by rritterson
I can imagine an accident reconstructionist being able to prove who hit whom, but it would be very expensive and more than the cash cost to fix your bike.

You might be able to tag her with leaving the scene,but I don't know what obligations you have at the scene of an accident. Did she leave without giving you her info?


She left without giving me any of her info. I asked her to pull her car forward so i could get my bike up, but she just left. I would have been able to get her for leaving the scene, but she went into the campus police dpt. hours after i filed my report and reversed the story saying i hit her, and i told her to go find a parking spot and wait for me to find her, which doesnt make any sense at all! She said she waited for me to come, and figured i just left. Even tho me and some random guy who helped me went up and down every row of cars looking for her.

[Mike T]

the person who helped you would benefit you a lot...thats all i can say for now...keep us posted!

[FalconXtreme]

do u have her information now? id say call her insurance company and tell them what happened. it may sound sneaky but it just might work.

[Madhazard]

I did that already. I dont have the vehical make or model. They said i could only file a claim if i had that. Also, they told me to wait til tuesday because if they filed a claim for me, and she made one earlier that day, it would complicate things.

I have to bring the bike to school today to show the oficer the damage. I hope That he doesnt just laugh and say "Its mostly scratches! Just try and buff them out and get some touch up pain where the paint is missing."

[rritterson]

Hmm...

I think you have two options:
1) Start a huge pissing match and start the accusations flying and hope the witness you have is enough to make things go your way.
2) Accept the fact she's a bitch and hope karma will catch up to her in the end.

[Madhazard]

yea. A friend told me that his friend tmentioned he saw a motorcycle accident yesterday at DVC. When i talked to the police officer today if there had been any other reports of motorcycle accidents, he said there were none other that day.

Suppose this guy saw her reverse into me. Do you think id have a good chance of comming out ahead? I got the guys number, but he was at work when i called him.

[MackeyStingray]

the fact that she did not stop should be good points in your favor

if you ran into her, you'd bet your ass she'd be staying to get YOUR info.

btw, the most important question is:


























































was she hawt?

[Madhazard]

meh. She was merely...ok. She dressed nice, but it really doesnt make up for the hurt face.

[Daredevil]

this is why i have a camera.... shoulda taken photo's of your bike underneath her car

[Mike T]

Originally posted by Daredevil
this is why i have a camera.... shoulda taken photo's of her

fixed...:teeth

[masameet]

If your bike was cosmetically nice before the accident, and you want it to look nice again, take it to a shop for a free estimate. Then decide whether the cost of fixing/repainting it is worth taking her to small claims court. With the guy in the truck as your witness, who can corroborate that your bike was underneath her car and that she drove off and didn't return and you two searched for her and her car without success, you'd probably fare well before the judge. Sure, she could claim she parked in the lot near the library or wherever because she couldn't find a spot in the lot near the accident, but Pfft! Why park on the other side of DVC after being involved in an accident without exchanging info? And if, as she claimed, that you hit her car, how did your bike end up under her car's rear end? How come then you didn't end up bouncing into and over her car?

And as a previous poster wrote, her not getting your info shows she was more eager to run from trouble than face it.

Besides being a coward, she filed an improper police report, hours after the incident, and probably on the advice of some shady friend of hers. And by filing that phony police report she is just as shady and ought to be publicly reproved (because basically she's now stating you're a liar). In small claims court her lies will come off as just that -- lies. And you're probably not her first accident victim anyway, esp. if she's so quick to say, Please let's keep insurance out of this.

Whatever you decide to do, you might consider also calling Len Tillem on KGO 810 AM radio. He's on the weekends, btwn 4 and 7 pm. He gives great legal advice. He might tell you to forget it. But he might also tell you to pursue a small claims court case against her just to teach her to be a responsible adult and to vindicate yourself as well.

I've access to Lexis Nexis and would be willing to help you out. Good luck!

[JesasaurusRex]

Originally posted by Mike T
...if she wins or anything and you get nothing...i'd get payback...but thats just me and im mean :teeth :angel

and where is DVC? DeVry College?

I think i'd do that regardless of the outcome

[}Dragon{]

Ask for a supervisor at the Campus Police Office (during the day), have them take a statement from your witness and have them re-write it as a hit and run.

[ironmonk]

Where are the damaged spots on her car and your bike? That might give a hint who hit whom. If her story conflicts with the damage, then she has a credibility problem.

For example if her rear bumper is damaged, and your left exhaust is damaged. It will be interesting to see how she explains you drive your exhaust into her.

[cardinal03]

Your bike doesn't drive sideways, it should be easy to figure out who hit whom. Unless she's claiming you picked up the bike and threw it at her car, hitting it with the bike's left side.

[954Rider]

I think you definitely have a shot at winning a civil case against her. If you had really hit her and she's got paint on her car, she would have definitely stayed around instead of driving away to look for a parking space out of sight and so far away from the scene of the incident. Guy in the truck can back this up. I would get her contact info and ask her to give you anal or else you'll see her in court.

[Madhazard]

Just an update. Its been a week since the incident. I made a claim with her insurance on tuesday and they have not been able to get ahold of her. Isnt there some sort of time period you are supposed to report being in an accident to your insurance? She has had 7 days. I now found a witness. so i got that on my side. Guy came up to me at school and asked me if i was in an acident!

Even tho i have a witness, someone to contest she left the scene, she has made no contact with insurance in 7 days, her story doesnt make sense, and if i were to have hit her, i would have been on the floor, the insurance company said they PROBABLY wont be able to help me out since on the police report she said i hit her. But then again, its still early and nobody can contact her.

[}Dragon{]

Originally posted by Madhazard
the insurance company said the PROBABLY wont be able to help me out since on the police report she said i hit her. But then again, its still early and nobody can contact her.

In a "he-said she-said" situation... the physical evidence speaks louder than words.

[FalconXtreme]

what happened to ur police report saying that she hit u? thats gotta count for something.

[JPM]

Has your witness contacted the police to give his statement for the report?

[Madhazard]

I have called the police twice now and left a message both times but the officer who took my report hasnt called me back! I left all the information with an officer who answered the phone, but he told me the officer who helped me would call me back.

The officer who has been working with me seems annoyed every time we speak, like i am wasting his time :(

[paladinnorcal]

My friend who used to work as a claims agent at State Farm said that in a car and motorcycle accident they would always just settle with the motorcyclist. If you know her insurance agency I would contact them directly. Ten to one you will find out that this is not her first accident, and they will be more then happy to give you some money to make you go away. If that doesn't work talk to a lawyer.

[masameet]

If you can, disregard that DVC cop's attitude -- you never know, that just might be the way he talks with everybody. Deal with the facts and the truth, be and sound positive (and occasionally aggrieved), have copies of the police reports and witness statements, your estimate, pix of your bike (just in case), and things ought to work out well for you with her ins. co.

And forget about her. She has tons of her own troubles to worry about.

And I'm not sure if you need to report (using SR-1) the accident to the DMV (within 10 days from the time of the incident if more than $750 in damage and/or someone was injured, no matter how slight).