I Can't Believe This Happened
04-06-11, 04:01 PM
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I Can't Believe This Happened
You couldn’t have scripted this if you tried and I still don’t believe it really happened; Coming thru the down town area on the way home, a guy driving an old Toyota decided to turn left in front of me at a controlled intersection. I toss out the anchor, but we are just too close. Thankfully the air bags on my GS didn’t go off. I got out of my car and started taking photos. I expected to see a lot of front end damage on my car, but there was very little. It scared up the bumper cover and one of the fog lights popped out. The impact pushed his bumper thu his radiator, effectively totaling his car. The other driver spoke no English so one of the many witnesses (This one named Mario) that happened to be there translated.
Let me tell you, Mario was a real piece of work. First thing he did was hand me one of his business cards and tell me he was a “well connected” bail bondsman. Then he told me that as far as he was concerned, the accident was my fault. When I asked him to elaborate, he said I should have been more careful. There were a lot of people around, but none of them calling 911. The mood of the crowd, which was not too good to begin with, got considerably cooler when I called 911. Mario started telling me that I should just get back in my car and drive away and “Let it go” (He repeated this numerous times). I asked him if the other driver had; A) a drivers license, B) Insurance. No one was producing any documents but Mario assured me that he had both. I said to Mario that we will just let the insurance companies sort it out.
The accident happened right in front of the local police department but it took 45 minutes to get an officer on scene. When the officer showed up, Mario started pointing at me and telling the officer that I ran the red light. (My light was green). The cop, to his credit didn’t bat an eye, he said “Doesn’t matter, you still have to yield when making a left turn” About this time, Mario disappeared into the crowd, never to be seen again. In short order, it was determined that the other driver did not have a license or insurance. He was written citations totaling $1250.00. My insurance fixed my car; they replaced the bumper cover and fog light. The final bill was $1200.00, Insurance covered all but $100.00.
Let me tell you, Mario was a real piece of work. First thing he did was hand me one of his business cards and tell me he was a “well connected” bail bondsman. Then he told me that as far as he was concerned, the accident was my fault. When I asked him to elaborate, he said I should have been more careful. There were a lot of people around, but none of them calling 911. The mood of the crowd, which was not too good to begin with, got considerably cooler when I called 911. Mario started telling me that I should just get back in my car and drive away and “Let it go” (He repeated this numerous times). I asked him if the other driver had; A) a drivers license, B) Insurance. No one was producing any documents but Mario assured me that he had both. I said to Mario that we will just let the insurance companies sort it out.
The accident happened right in front of the local police department but it took 45 minutes to get an officer on scene. When the officer showed up, Mario started pointing at me and telling the officer that I ran the red light. (My light was green). The cop, to his credit didn’t bat an eye, he said “Doesn’t matter, you still have to yield when making a left turn” About this time, Mario disappeared into the crowd, never to be seen again. In short order, it was determined that the other driver did not have a license or insurance. He was written citations totaling $1250.00. My insurance fixed my car; they replaced the bumper cover and fog light. The final bill was $1200.00, Insurance covered all but $100.00.
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04-06-11, 10:12 PM
#11
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I am in Yakima, managed to find a body shop that had a painter who knows how to match paint. (He also believes in actually using a hammer and dolly to straighten panels instead of grinding and filling). I can't see a color mismatch.
