My son got hit on his bike *Update post 37*

[phorsenuf]

Wait, did I miss something .. your DS did not get any of the drivers info when the driver dropped him off at home?
Was it because the driver and your son "talked" and it was decided your son was fine and everyone (driver and your son) just left it at that ... hmm.
Well (back to Judge Judy and People's Court) always, people, always call the Police and have Police come to the scene.

Needless to say Chris was quite rattled after the accident and just wasn't thinking straight. The guy dropped him off at the house and left. He never gave Chris any information such as name, address, phone, insurance info which is required by law in NH If you've never had a trauma to your body it's hard to understand that until you come down from an adrenaline rush you don't know how you feel. How many times do you hear of people that got in a car accident, say they were ok and then the next day were sore and such. It's the same thing. Plain and simple. I don't know why Surfgirl is being such a ***** to me about this. Nothing like kicking a person while they are down, huh.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Phor, don't let this thread add to your stress. You guys have been through a lot.

You need complete information in order to sort things out. No one should fault you or your son for that. If the driver was at fault, which from your posts it seems to indicate, it doesn't matter how nice he was. Nor does his intentions matter. None of that absolves culpability if the driver is at fault.

 

[Eeyore5]

Needless to say Chris was quite rattled after the accident and just wasn't thinking straight. The guy dropped him off at the house and left. He never gave Chris any information such as name, address, phone, insurance info which is required by law in NH If you've never had a trauma to your body it's hard to understand that until you come down from an adrenaline rush you don't know how you feel. How many times do you hear of people that got in a car accident, say they were ok and then the next day were sore and such. It's the same thing. Plain and simple. I don't know why Surfgirl is being such a ***** to me about this. Nothing like kicking a person while they are down, huh.

I don't get it either. You came here looking for support. I don't see how others think turning it into a discussion of liability, whose at fault and stalking is helpful. Your son is in my prayers.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I don't get it either. You came her looking for support. I don't see how others think turning it into a discussion of liability and stalking is helpful. Your son is in my prayers.

I don't get it either. Your son is in my prayers as well.

 

[momrek06]

Needless to say Chris was quite rattled after the accident and just wasn't thinking straight. The guy dropped him off at the house and left. He never gave Chris any information such as name, address, phone, insurance info which is required by law in NH If you've never had a trauma to your body it's hard to understand that until you come down from an adrenaline rush you don't know how you feel. How many times do you hear of people that got in a car accident, say they were ok and then the next day were sore and such. It's the same thing. Plain and simple. I don't know why Surfgirl is being such a ***** to me about this. Nothing like kicking a person while they are down, huh.

4's,

Sweetie, you haven't been feeling well. Do not let this thread stress you out even more. OK.

The MAIN thing is Chris will be ok. I am so sure he will be able to track down the driver.

 

[momx2]

Certainly it would be the victim's word against the driver's, but I don't think this would qualify as hearsay just because others did not witness it.

Or course Wikipedia isn't the final word on everything, but nevertheless, here's what I found from there (emphasis is mine):

"generally defines hearsay as a "statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted."[2] Historically, the rule against hearsay is aimed at prohibiting the use of a person's assertion, as equivalent to testimony to the fact asserted, unless the assertor is brought to testify in court where he may be placed under oath and cross-examined."

I've never heard of a person not being allowed to testify that a statement was made directly to them if they didn't have a witness to the statement. At that point, it just becomes a he said/she said issue.

Edited to add: to the OP, I hope your son is feeling a little better today. This is always my fear with DS13!

You are right in this case. Yes, the statement is hearsay, but it meets one of the many exceptions to hearsay. The statement in question about how the driver just creamed him, would be "a statement against his interest." That is an exception to hearsay and the son would be able to testify to that statement being made to him.

OP, hope your son is okay!

Also, I hope the man doesn't get charged. Sounds like an accident to me.

 

[doxdogy]

I am glad to hear that their was nothing seriously wrong with your son. I am also sorry that others are accusing your son of wanting to "stalk" the guy that hit him. That in itself is a ridiculous statement. I am sure your son has no desire (as you states previously) wants to press charges against the guy that hit him. He just wants his medical bills paid and his bicycle replaced. Also him telling the police or a judge that they guy admitted to "creaming" him is not hearsay. If the OP told the judge that the guy creamed her son, that would be hearsay.

hearsay
n. 1) second-hand evidence in which the witness is not telling what he/she knows personally, but what others have said to him/her. 2) a common objection made by the opposing lawyer to testimony when it appears the witness has violated the hearsay rule. 3) scuttlebutt or gossip.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

First off Phors I'm so sorry that this has happened. I hope your son heals quickly.


As for those that are giving her a hard time you all should be ashamed of yourselves. This is her child and the treatment your giving her is DISPICABLE. How would you feel if you were writing about your child and people said this to you. And it doesn't matter that he is an adult, you don't stop worrying and loving your kids ever.

Damn how in the hell do you people sleep at night?

 

[Eeyore5]

First off Phors I'm so sorry that this has happened. I hope your son heals quickly.


As for those that are giving her a hard time you all should be ashamed of yourselves. This is her child and the treatment your giving her is DISPICABLE. How would you feel if you were writing about your child and people said this to you. And it doesn't matter that he is an adult, you don't stop worrying and loving your kids ever.

Damn how in the hell do you people sleep at night?

Well said

 

[surfgirl]

Go back to my original post and I said I was sorry to hear this... How does that translate to kicking you when you're down?

I am sorry - it sucks (can I say that?) to go thru this.

You're right -stalking was not a good word choice. I retract that.

However I still don't believe that the driver had evil intentions. Maybe he, too, was shaken up. Yes, they should have called the police- I agree with that. Just because I expressed a contrary opinion (which others have as well) doesn't mean I wish you bad things.

I hope you and your family has a better day tomorrow...

 

[momx2]

I am glad to hear that their was nothing seriously wrong with your son. I am also sorry that others are accusing your son of wanting to "stalk" the guy that hit him. That in itself is a ridiculous statement. I am sure your son has no desire (as you states previously) wants to press charges against the guy that hit him. He just wants his medical bills paid and his bicycle replaced. Also him telling the police or a judge that they guy admitted to "creaming" him is not hearsay. If the OP told the judge that the guy creamed her son, that would be hearsay.

hearsay
n. 1) second-hand evidence in which the witness is not telling what he/she knows personally, but what others have said to him/her. 2) a common objection made by the opposing lawyer to testimony when it appears the witness has violated the hearsay rule. 3) scuttlebutt or gossip.

I know this really doesn't matter in the big scheme of things, but yes, her son saying the driver said he creamed him is hearsay. But, as I stated earlier it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule. There are many, many exceptions to the hearsay rule. That's when a statement is hearsay, but is allowed to be testified to because it meets an exception. This exception is that the statement is a statement against interest. Therefore, her son could testify that the driver said that. If the OP told the judge this it would be considered double hearsay and not allowed as there are no exceptions for double hearsay to be allowed in testimony. I'm a criminal defense attorney with 16 years of experience I don't know much, but this I know.

 

[Imzadi]

Phors, glad your son will be okay.

I would think that since he did due diligence in stopping for your son and taking him home and waht not, hes not gonna be hauled off to jail. I personally wuld have called the police to cover my rear end but I can see where sometimes you don't especaily if you son said he was ok. I hope he starts to feel better. I bike myself and always worry about this. He should be covered under the guys auto insurance probably.

There was actually two incidences here (that I know about,) where cab drivers tried to drive away after hitting someone so their insurance rates wouldn't go up.

The first incident, a cabbie clipped someone crossing the street. The cab stopped for a moment. The person was clearly limping off to the side walk to get out of the road. The cabbie then tried to drive away, without even getting out to check on the pedestrian he hit.

About 5 people jumped off the sidewalk. Three ran and placed themselves right in front of the cab, banging in the hood, yelling for the cab driver to stop. The other two tried to open the doors to get in or haul the driver out. I have never seen such a furious mob. It looked like one of those mob riots that you see on TV. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had hauled him out of the car and pummeled the driver for trying to drive off. Someone else started taking down the drivers license right away, in case he tried to speed off again & someone else called 911. Others went to help the pedestrian.

He finally pulled over to exchange info. Police hung around until the cops showed up to make sure he hung around to do the right thing.


The second incident was a woman I met, who said she had a hip injury for about 8 months. She was in the back of the cab when another cab hit the side of it, full on. She went flying across the cab, into the door. Hit her head, leg & hip.

The cab drivers, got out of the cabs. Instead of checking on her, they went into a screaming fit at each other.

The woman got out, extremely dazed and went to sit on the curb, really out of it.

The cab drivers asked her if she was fine. She was so out of it, she wasn't sure. THEY told her she was fine, and BOTH of them wanted to run back into their cabs, (after exchanging info with each other about the accident, and just leave her there at the side of the road, as neither of them wanted to take responsibility for her injuries. A bystander, jumped in, spoke up, and said you can't leave her there, that she was obviously injured, dazed and confused. She called the police and made the drivers stay till the cops arrived.

If it wasn't for OTHER people at both these incidents, the drivers would have driven away. Not saying it happened in the OP's situation, but sometimes, people would "like" to think the person they ran over to be alright, instead of doing the right thing, especially when doing so works in their favor.

In the OP's situation, the driver should have given all his contact info, in case there was a problem later. He hit a person with his car.

 

[doxdogy]

Then I stand corrected. I was shooting from the hip or should I say mouth. I was just more upset that she comes for sympathy and to vent, and it turned into a mess.

I know this really doesn't matter in the big scheme of things, but yes, her son saying the driver said he creamed him is hearsay. But, as I stated earlier it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule. There are many, many exceptions to the hearsay rule. That's when a statement is hearsay, but is allowed to be testified to because it meets an exception. This exception is that the statement is a statement against interest. Therefore, her son could testify that the driver said that. If the OP told the judge this it would be considered double hearsay and not allowed as there are no exceptions for double hearsay to be allowed in testimony. I'm a criminal defense attorney with 16 years of experience I don't know much, but this I know.

 

[handinpocket]

Then I stand corrected. I was shooting from the hip or should I say mouth. I was just more upset that she comes for sympathy and to vent, and it turned into a mess.

People are just looking at this as outsiders with no emotions and LOGIC. Her son said he was fine, accepted a ride from the man who hit him and got no information whatsoever from the man.

OP is very upset at the man and said that "he creamed him" was going into the police report. Her son is not 16 years old, he is 23 for goodness sakes! He is old enough to take some responsibility here, it was not very smart to not call the police and get NO information. I could understand if he suffered from a brain injury, but his mental state was not altered.

I just find it wrong to paint the guy that was driving the truck as a villian, he sounds like a nice guy, who just had an accident.

JMO, from a diser going off just logic alone.

 

[phorsenuf]

People are just looking at this as outsiders with no emotions and LOGIC. Her son said he was fine, accepted a ride from the man who hit him and got no information whatsoever from the man.

OP is very upset at the man and said that "he creamed him" was going into the police report. Her son is not 16 years old, he is 23 for goodness sakes! He is old enough to take some responsibility here, it was not very smart to not call the police and get NO information. I could understand if he suffered from a brain injury, but his mental state was not altered.

I just find it wrong to paint the guy that was driving the truck as a villian, he sounds like a nice guy, who just had an accident.

JMO, from a diser going off just logic alone.

My son has been handling everything himself. He was the one that told the cop that quote. He told me about it afterward. I have never painted the guy as a villain. I do think it was very nice he gave my son a ride home. I never disputed that fact. The thing that bothers me is the guy should have gave his info to my son, even if it was a just in case thing. That's it. I just love how people jump to such conclusions. I tried to be clear and concise but I guess I wasn't.
Regardless, I am done with people trying to tear me down anymore about this. If you want to think I am being an *** about it all then so be it.

To everyone who has been so nice and supportive, thanks so much. I'm going to back out now because I'm under so much stress that reading these posts by people who are twisting everything about it (and me) is getting to me.

ETA: My son is in a lot of pain. His arm is in a sling and can't lift it up because it hurts the shoulder too much. His hip hurts and he can't even bring his leg up enough to put on a sock. The pictures that my sister took of his head was very unnerving. How he ended up without a head injury, other than a concussion is beyond me. Yes, he did have a concussion. He'll be in pain for a while I'm sure.

 

[dodukes]

btw, do you have an update from your son? hows he doing?

 

[OceanAnnie]

People are just looking at this as outsiders with no emotions and LOGIC. Her son said he was fine, accepted a ride from the man who hit him and got no information whatsoever from the man.

OP is very upset at the man and said that "he creamed him" was going into the police report. Her son is not 16 years old, he is 23 for goodness sakes! He is old enough to take some responsibility here, it was not very smart to not call the police and get NO information. I could understand if he suffered from a brain injury, but his mental state was not altered.

I just find it wrong to paint the guy that was driving the truck as a villian, he sounds like a nice guy, who just had an accident.

JMO, from a diser going off just logic alone.

The OP was venting. She has gone through a lot recently and now this.

I just don't see the above as applied logic at all. I think it's unfortunate there are people here that blame the son for the accident or not getting the information. Why didn't the "nice" guy provide it? If failing to call the police or get any information wasn't very smart on the part of the injured, what words would you use to describe the "nice" guy for failing to do the same?

The OP mentioned several times how her son was shaken up. You say the son's mental state was not altered, but you don't know. It doesn't take a brain injury to have an altered mental state. It was a traumatic situation. People handle trauma in different ways.

Bottom line: being a nice guy does not absolve the driver from responsibility.

This thread is just sad.

 

[handinpocket]

I'm sure the guy who accidentally hit her son was shaken up too. He probably didn't think twice about giving info. because no cops were called and the OPs son said he was fine.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm sure the guy who accidentally hit her son was shaken up too. He probably didn't think twice about giving info. because no cops were called and the OPs son said he was fine.

The driver had a responsibility to call the cops. I just think it's interesting that the injured is deemed, "not very smart", but the driver is given a pass.

 

[tvguy]

I'm sure the guy who accidentally hit her son was shaken up too. He probably didn't think twice about giving info. because no cops were called and the OPs son said he was fine.

Exactly.

There are only three important things here:
1) That the biker rider recover fully
2) That a determination of fault be made to determine who covers his medical expenses.
3)That the identity of the other vehicle be identified.


The law requires parties involved in an accident to exchange information, that's a two way path. Both failed to do that. I think most District Attorneys would pass on prosecuting that because they would have to charge both parties, and that doesn't benefit anyone.