I have a question about getting in to an accident.

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Okay, last Friday I got myself in to my first accident. I was driving down a road, and all of a sudden, a jeep is in front of me, which I didn't see before, and she jumps on her brakes right inside of an intersection. I didn't have enough time to stop and well; my front right went under her rear left. Now, the my car was not going faster than 10 mph, but because of the nature of the two vehicles (car, and SUV), the damage that happened occurred. Her car, the only damage that I saw was that the bumper got smashed in, which shouldnt be much to get repaired/replaced. On my car, well, imagine a car going under the bumper of an SUV, and thats your picture. The front right of the hood got folded at the crumple points, grill got smashed, quarter panel may need replacing (not sure yet), and light fixtures on the front passenger side need to be replaced.

Right after the accident, the first thing I did was call my mother. After that, I noticed some people standing there that said they saw the whole thing, and asked them to stay to tell the cop. Okay, so the women gets out of her car, and calls the cops. Fine. Now, when the cop comes on the scene, he asks me for the normal stuff, license and registration and proof of insurance. He gets the same from the other person. Now, he tells me that I am 100% at fault because I hit her rear end, no matter what. I told him I have witnesses who saw what happened, and he said that it doesn't mean anything. He then says "I will ask you what your side is anyway." I tell him that I was going straight on the road, and all of a sudden I see the jeep in front of me, and she jumped on her brakes, and I guess I didn't have enough time to stop. He then takes her statement, which I didn't hear. He did not take down the names of the witnesses, even though I asked him to.

Fast forward to the next day. I am sitting at the table, thinking about the accident, and it dawn on me. The only way the damage to both cars could have happened is if a) I was over the median line, in which case I would have gotten in to an accident long before hitting her, and b) that she was making a right on red, and then decided to stop short. I told my mom, and she asked me why I didn't tell the cop this, and I said that I didn't want to tell him something I wasn't sure of. So I left it at that for the night, trying to replay the incident in my head.

Fast forward to today. I was helping two of my friends study for an eco final we have tomorrow. One of the gets a call, and she says we are gonna go to someone else's and help him study too. So we go. This person is someone I saw drive by the accident, and make a face at the person I hit like a "you shouldn't of done that look." Now, this person and I were never friend's, in fact we used to get in fights when we were younger, but have since grown up. He told me he saw the whole thing happen, and that she did make a right on red, trying to go into an opening that just didn't exist for the amount of traffic that was there at the time (school just let out, and everyone drive's, that's how much traffic there was). He said she tried to jump in front of us, and the person in front of her stopped, and the person I hit stopped short while not even fully being in the lane, which is why I hit her the way I did.

My question is: Can I call up the police station, and have hist testimony taken, and added to the police report, or have a new report filed? I just can't imagine how an officer would not take any witness accounts in to the report he filed.

Now don't get me wrong, I do take some responsibility, but I am a responsible driver and never came close to an accident before. I just feel like if I wasn't truly at fault, which I don't think I was, then justice should be fairly served.

Cliff Notes:
- I got in an accident last friday - dame is to my front right and her rear left. Cop takes no witness testimony
- Next day, I think about accident, and conclude only way damage could occur is if she made a right on red.
- Today I find out she did make a right on red.
- Question - Can I call up the police station, and have hist testimony taken, and added to the police report, or have a new report filed? I just can't imagine how an officer would not take any witness accounts in to the report he filed.
- Please read the entire post before commenting, the cliff notes do not tell the whole story.
 

HappyPuppy

Lifer
Apr 5, 2001
16,997
2
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When you hit somebody from the rear it is your fault. Never assume that you know what the car in front of you is going to do.

Your story is interesting, but it means nothing. You hit her from the rear.
 

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Originally posted by: minendo
Was there a sign posted that said no right on red?
No, but she made a right on red in heavy traffic. Put it this way, it was bumper to bumper, and she tried to squeeze in between me and the person in front of me, and the person in front of me was in the process of braking because of the traffic in front of them. So when she got partially in front of us, she jammed on her brakes or she would have hit the person in front of her; and I ended up hitting her.
 

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
When you hit somebody from the rear it is your fault. Never assume that you know what the car in front of you is going to do.

Your story is interesting, but it means nothing. You hit her from the rear.
So if she was going 2 mph slower, and I hit her quarter panel, then I would have a case? Shouldn't the cop have taken witness testimony on the scene no matter what kind of accident it was?
 

HappyPuppy

Lifer
Apr 5, 2001
16,997
2
71
If you had hit her quarter panel you would have an excellent case. You didn't, though. You hit her from the rear.

Look, I sympathize with you. The other driver was a jerk. The fact remains that she had enough room to enter the flow of traffic and then hit the binders.

You have every right to add witness testimony to the police report and you can fight the ticket in court. I believe you will lose, though.
 

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
If you had hit her quarter panel you would have an excellent case. You didn't, though. You hit her from the rear.

Look, I sympathize with you. The other driver was a jerk. The fact remains that she had enough room to enter the flow of traffic and then hit the binders.

You have every right to add witness testimony to the police report and you can fight the ticket in court. I believe you will lose, though.
I didn't get a ticket. That's not what I am trying to fight. I am trying to fight the at fault part, so that if we end up going through insurance, the rates for my parents don't go up. My parents are trying to get the other person to settle outside of insurance (and I would pay the damage), but the other people are being kind of stubborn, and not returning our calls with damage estimates, and their decision. If they end up going through insurance, and the fault is on them, then my parents insurance rate should not go up; but if it on me, then my parents insurance rate will go sky high. Thanks for all your help.
 

HappyPuppy

Lifer
Apr 5, 2001
16,997
2
71
Originally posted by: Marauder911
Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
If you had hit her quarter panel you would have an excellent case. You didn't, though. You hit her from the rear.

Look, I sympathize with you. The other driver was a jerk. The fact remains that she had enough room to enter the flow of traffic and then hit the binders.

You have every right to add witness testimony to the police report and you can fight the ticket in court. I believe you will lose, though.
I didn't get a ticket. That's not what I am trying to fight. I am trying to fight the at fault part, so that if we end up going through insurance, the rates for my parents don't go up. My parents are trying to get the other person to settle outside of insurance (and I would pay the damage), but the other people are being kind of stubborn, and not returning our calls with damage estimates, and their decision. If they end up going through insurance, and the fault is on them, then my parents insurance rate should not go up; but if it on me, then my parents insurance rate will go sky high. Thanks for all your help.


Ahh, you are truly screwed. The other driver is shopping for personal injury lawyers to hit you with a lawsuit. Whiplash anyone?

:D
 

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Originally posted by: Marauder911
Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
If you had hit her quarter panel you would have an excellent case. You didn't, though. You hit her from the rear.

Look, I sympathize with you. The other driver was a jerk. The fact remains that she had enough room to enter the flow of traffic and then hit the binders.

You have every right to add witness testimony to the police report and you can fight the ticket in court. I believe you will lose, though.
I didn't get a ticket. That's not what I am trying to fight. I am trying to fight the at fault part, so that if we end up going through insurance, the rates for my parents don't go up. My parents are trying to get the other person to settle outside of insurance (and I would pay the damage), but the other people are being kind of stubborn, and not returning our calls with damage estimates, and their decision. If they end up going through insurance, and the fault is on them, then my parents insurance rate should not go up; but if it on me, then my parents insurance rate will go sky high. Thanks for all your help.


Ahh, you are truly screwed. The other driver is shopping for personal injury lawyers to hit you with a lawsuit. Whiplash anyone?

:D
That's what I am afraid of, but at 10 mph, and the tiny damage to her car, I cannot fathom whiplash as a possibility. And yes, the instant she felt the bump, she must have seen these: $$$$$$$. From what I understand, when my mom talked to her husband (she still hasn't called back, and husband was not in the car), that he brought her to the emergency room. I spoke to a doctor, and he said whiplash in that kind of an accident, and that speed would not occur, so I don't know.
 

cressida

Platinum Member
Sep 10, 2000
2,840
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You might want to get a lawyer, we kind of rear ended a lady (not dead on) it was like a quarter of our bumper. She was a dam* bit*h, started asking if we had enough room to move out of her way. My dad didn't want to release any information to her (until the cops came) she started yelling at us and asking if we were refusing to tell her our insurance information when we already told her we want to wait for the police. Well it took about a year and a half but we won the case.

I hope it works out for you. But by the sound of it, you are at fault. Even if she did cut you off. Might want to call your insurance and tell them the side of your story and the witnesses.
 

Yossarian

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
18,010
1
81
Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
When you hit somebody from the rear it is your fault. Never assume that you know what the car in front of you is going to do.

Your story is interesting, but it means nothing. You hit her from the rear.

not always true, but very hard to prove otherwise.
 

virtueixi

Platinum Member
Jun 28, 2003
2,781
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You weren't paying attention at some point:

You didn't see a car pulling out in front of you.

and/or

You weren't paying attention to the light changing and anticipating the need to slow down.
 

Squisher

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
21,204
66
91
Originally posted by: Marauder911
My question is: Can I call up the police station, and have hist testimony taken, and added to the police report, or have a new report filed? I just can't imagine how an officer would not take any witness accounts in to the report he filed.

I'm pretty sure you can. It might not help though.

I can't imagine that your insurance would go up that much though. Would it?
 

Orsorum

Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
5
81
I sympathize with you, but I would recommend calling a lawyer asap, and letting them handle this. It'll be worth at least a consultation fee.

And I am surprised as well that the cop didn't take down the names of witnesses, but I don't know the protocol involved.