Hit and Run Accident....

[TwinMom7]

Has anyone been involved in one? Just wondering what our chances are of finding the woman who ran a stop sign and hit our son last night and then left the scene. He was able to get the make of the car and part of the license plate - he knows the first part was 71U and then the next four numbers were 2641, but now he's confused on the actual order of the numbers.

His car stalled in the process and then he couldn't get it started. It was midnight, snowing and cold and out in the county - not a lot of traffic at that hour. Thank God for his cell phone.

He said she was talking on her cell phone - she got out of the car, asked if he was ok and then waved him off, got in her car and drove away.

I just talked to the investigating officer and he doesn't seem to hold out a lot of hope in finding her. Wouldn't it seem that you could plug in 71U and then search every combination of those four digits for a dark colored 4-door BMW in St. Joseph County?

Seems we can find just about anything else on computers!!

So, he's a college student with no money and a car that ended up towed to a garage. And she's sitting in her home with her little black BMW tucked away in her garage.

 

[GJM]

I was involved in a hit and run - it was so scary - I was on my way to pick my DS up from daycare, this red car is coming right at me, hits the side of my car and just keeps going. There was a policeman at the corner and went to try and stop the car, he couldn't find him.

Everyday I was looking for that car, I actually rode around into different parking lots looking for the car. It made me so mad that someone could do that and not stop. I had alot of damage to my car.

I understand your frustration!

 

[ziggystardust]

My mom and I were in a hit and run years ago. Some 15 yr old stole his dad's company car while the parents were on vacation. He hit us - left with half the car still attached to ours (inc. VIN ) ditched the car somewhere and ran home. He freaked out and called the cops to tell them what happened.

Most likely you won't find them but that doesn't mean I wouldn't stop looking. As far as the computer thing goes - theres so many combinations to that plate # and the cops. are not going to go door to door.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I would alert the local garages (maybe make up a flyer and go to each one)that can service that type of car that it was involved in a hit & run and you are trying to obtain the owners information. Make sure they have your contact information and the investigating police officers name or # so they could contact them vs. you. Not sure if it will help but at least it will be something. I'm glad you son wasn't injured!

 

[MosMom]

The first number is the county in Indiana. In your case, 71 is St. Joseph county (I grew up in Granger). Everyones license plate in your county starts with 71. If he is confused about the other numbers, then who knows how many number combinations you could come up with.

 

[VirtuallyMe]

Locally there have been 30 hit and run accidents this year- most are minor- dings in a parking lot sort of thing- but a few were bad and 2 caused deaths of the people in the other vehicles. One drove through a car repair shop early in the morning and left enough of her car behind that they were able to find her easily.

My sister was involved in a hit and run accident about 4-5 years ago had her young kids in the car- the woman plowed into the back of her and got out to cuss her out and then it seemed to dawn on her apparent drunk self that she was at fault and drunk and she hopped back in the car and took off- they never caught the lady- and my sister also had vehicle description and partial license plate number-

I like the idea of alerting body repair shops- it is a good idea to let them know if they got a car matching the description with those numbers in a license plate to call the cops...

 

[DancingBear]

How many black beamers can there be in that county with 71U followed by either a 2, 4, 6 or 1 (even if everyone in the county has 71)? Seems you could run that list, and then narrow down further as to whether the other numbers are there. The cops need to run this down.

 

[TwinMom7]

I thought of the body shop thing too, but there are several hundred in this area - I wouldn't even know where to start.

My thought for the license plate is that they know the first part was 71U - why can't they search all 71U registered in St. Joseph County for a dark colored, 4-door, late model BMW. How many could there be - maybe 100? Then you take those 100 and see if any of them have those four digits in their plate number.

Just doesn't seem like this shoud be so difficult!!!

 

[TwinMom7]

How many black beamers can there be in that county with 71U followed by either a 2, 4, 6 or 1 (even if everyone in the county has 71)? Seems you could run that list, and then narrow down further as to whether the other numbers are there. The cops need to run this down.

Great minds think alike!!! That's exactly what I just typed and that's exactly what I'm going to say to the investigating officer.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I was involved in a hit and run in Raleigh, NC about 6 years ago. It was about 2 a.m. (my friend and I were going back to our hotel room after a concert, I was driving her car as she had been drinking). I got hit head on at 45 mph. The driver's hood flew up and smashed their windshield and kept on driving slowly away. I was so out of it and making sure my friend was ok. The cops/ambulance came and they filled out reports but no one else had seen anything. I just knew it was an old white car but they couldn't go on just that. Hit and runs are frustrating because so few are ever caught (but if they are it's a huge criminal offense). Good luck to you and your son!

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I thought of the body shop thing too, but there are several hundred in this area - I wouldn't even know where to start.

My thought for the license plate is that they know the first part was 71U - why can't they search all 71U registered in St. Joseph County for a dark colored, 4-door, late model BMW. How many could there be - maybe 100? Then you take those 100 and see if any of them have those four digits in their plate number.

Just doesn't seem like this shoud be so difficult!!!

Maybe call a BMW dealership and see where they recommend body work being done. Or call a couple of the body shops and see if they do or if they could recommend someone who does body work for a BMW - try some near where the accident took place. Parts for a BMW aren't cheap and insurance co. usually go through the same people over and over because they get a better price. (just thinking while I'm typing)
What is around where the accident happened? Maybe she lives in the area and you could cruise the neighborhood looking for the car? Post an ad on the supermarket bulletin boards (or other local merchants...coffee shops, diners, etc.) - ours local supermarkets have spots where you can advertise stuff for sale, etc. Put LOOKING FOR ________ Regarding car accident on date, time of accident, location of accident, with a cell # to contact. Make sure it is bright & eye catching but straight & to the point - maybe hint at Police involvement. Hopefully the person who was in the accident will come forward herself (fingers crossed) or someone will see it who knows the other driver.

 

[sha_lyn]

A lady "hit and ran" me in the post office parking lot yrs ago. I had a description of her, the car and a partial plate number. Called 911, and they wouldn't even ocme out ad take a report. told me to handle it with my insurance. Insurance said without a report, it would count against me. Luckily the damage to DH's truck was very small. She OTOH did a good bit of damage to her car.

 

[Jestocost]

How many black beamers can there be in that county with 71U followed by either a 2, 4, 6 or 1 (even if everyone in the county has 71)? Seems you could run that list, and then narrow down further as to whether the other numbers are there. The cops need to run this down.

There are only 24 different combinations for any four non-repeating numbers. That doesn't seem like it would be too hard to run through.

 

[TwinMom7]

Maybe call a BMW dealership and see where they recommend body work being done. Or call a couple of the body shops and see if they do or if they could recommend someone who does body work for a BMW - try some near where the accident took place. Parts for a BMW aren't cheap and insurance co. usually go through the same people over and over because they get a better price. (just thinking while I'm typing)

I just did this!! Called the local BMW dealer and asked where they would recommend getting a BMW repaired. He told me that they have a service department there. I explained the entire story and he took down all of my information. He also said that if she took it somewhere else for repair, they would probably have to order the parts through their office. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully she's "dumb" enough to go there soon and get her car repaired. She's probably thinking this little 18 year old kid won't have the nerve to mess with her.

...but now she's dealing with one TICKED OFF mother!

 

[almacdonald]

Definitely tell your son to go to the police station and have a report made up. I'm not sure about the laws in your area but here, in order to get insurance paid repairs done you need to have a police report. Also, with the info he has there is a good chance they can narrow down the search and possibly catch the bag that took off from an accident. Ugh, i hate people like that! Someone hit my car in our apartment parking lot. I totally went CSI and started looking for other cars in the lot with red paint scuffs on their dented bumpers at pecisely 23" from the ground.... Someone is very lucky that I never did find them.

 

[Tiggeroo]

somebody hit and ran my car in a grocery store parking lot last week. It is bad, the stupid jerks. I'm so mad. I'm also a poor struggling college student with three kids in college. I only have liability on my car. It's my older car but it's a mustang and i love her dearly. Even if I can afford the repair I can't afford a rental car so it'll stay ugly til the spring when school is done and I can do without the car for a week.

 

[jen0610]

My thought for the license plate is that they know the first part was 71U - why can't they search all 71U registered in St. Joseph County for a dark colored, 4-door, late model BMW. How many could there be - maybe 100? Then you take those 100 and see if any of them have those four digits in their plate number.

Just doesn't seem like this shoud be so difficult!!!

DH was an MP in the Army and they could do the type of search you are thinking about. If the MP's can have that computer program, then IN troopers, police departments, and sheriff departments, should to. But then again, who knows, could be something that good ol' Mitch did away with. Or he outsourced it to a foreign company.

Push the issue. If you have to go up the chain of command, do it. If they don't care or stall you. Call the local news. Ask them to find out why the police can't do a simple search. There is only 24 combonations that 2461 can go into. And just knowing that is is a BMW narrows it down even more.

 

[Tiggeroo]

the store my car was hit at has cameras in the lot. The marks are very distinctive, it had to be a huge vehicle. The store said they scanned the tapes but they sounded like they could care less. They won't let us sit in the room and view the tapes.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I was rear ended (while driving) by a hit and run. I got all the digits but one of the license plate. Called 911 right away. A cop came to assist me.

About 10 minutes later a car coming in the opposite direction pulled over. They followed the guy and had the complete license plate number. They scoured the neighborhoods but couldn't find the guy.

Long story short--no insurance, the actual owner of the vehicle claimed it was a "company vehicle" and was uncooperative. The physical vehicle was eventually found and impounded.

And that is where it ends.

Sometimes you are successful and sometimes you aren't--but submit what you have and you might get lucky.

In my case--as harsh as it sounds...the cop was right. I was told that they are tied up with other things that a minor hit and run (as in nobody was seriously injured or died) fall to the bottom of the totem pole to other crimes.

So it isn't that it isn't "that hard" to deal with--it just isn't as serious a crime as it seems like the hit and runs that turn into drug busts or the murders or a host of other crimes. So sad--but reality.

My insurance covered everything less my deductible. My medical expenses ended up being free due to Florida Law. Nobody filed their claims properly and b/c of Florida Law, they couldn't come after me for a penny. And I repeatedly offered to pay my deductible, help them get on their way to filing. But I wasn't allowed to pay a dime until after they filed. Then they filed too late. So the whole thing including vehicle repair and MRI/doctor's visit/PT....cost me only $250 or $500 (I forget what my deductible is.)

 

[*JoGo*]

I hope the place you talked with today helps you out and she gets what's coming.

I love the picture in your sig. Every time I see it, I tear up. My brother is also a Marine named Bobby, he's currently in Iraq and will be returning this spring. I cannot wait to hug MY Bobby. God bless you and your family.