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My turn to get hit

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by qbee42, Oct 29, 2009.

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  1. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Some force in nature doesn't like the rear passenger corner of our 2006 Prius. Earlier this year we had a deer run into it, creating only cosmetic damage. Today a hit and run driver popped in the rear bumper right in the same corner. Fortunately the tail light assembly was spared.

    Our Prius was parked at a doctor's office. While my wife was in for her annual visit, I was reading, facing away from the window. A 14 year old boy sitting opposite from me was looking out the window. He got this silly look on his face and said "Wow, a van just hit that Prius." That got my attention. I jumped up and sprinted out of the building, but the driver sped off without me getting a look at the license plate.

    It should be easy to track down the hit and run driver. She came out of the doctor's office walking with a cane, since one of her legs is shorter than the other. Her van was parked in the handicap parking spot. The office manager at the doctor's office knows the driver, since the driver is a patient. However, they can't give me any contact information due to HIPAA. That shouldn't be a problem for the police.

    Now I have to call the insurance company, talk to the adjuster, take time to get it fixed...bother. Oh well, it could have been worse.

    Tom
     
    #1 qbee42, Oct 29, 2009
  2. blueumbrella

    blueumbrella Member of Prius Regeneration

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    Sorry to hear this. At least you were able to identify the perpetrator.
     
    #2 blueumbrella, Oct 30, 2009
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Agreed. Someone backed into the rear bumper of my Prius and marred the perfectly clean rear end. Unfortunately they pulled out of a visitor's parking spot and I never saw them. Grrr
     
    #3 F8L, Oct 30, 2009
  4. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    That's a bummer, Tom. I know I would certainly jump up if I heard the words ". . . just hit that Prius."

    Good luck with everything.
     
    #4 TonyPSchaefer, Oct 30, 2009
  5. octavia

    octavia Active Member

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    yikes.
    It amazes me that people can do that... just drive off after hitting someone. Is there a chance that she didn't realize she had hit your car?
     
    #5 octavia, Oct 30, 2009
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Several of us talked about it after she left. We decided that it was possible that she didn't notice, but also that she shouldn't be driving if she didn't notice that big of an impact. Apparently it made the vehicles shudder, which should be obvious to all but the most oblivious drivers. She was a middle aged to elderly driver, so who knows.

    Tom
     
    #6 qbee42, Oct 30, 2009
  7. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Should we send someone to her residence?

    "Youse want to fix the Prius or we shorten your other leg?" :madgrin:
     
    #7 dogfriend, Oct 30, 2009
  8. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Oh my. I'm not going to comment on this one, although it did make me laugh. Oh crap, I guess I *did* comment on it.

    Tom
     
    #8 qbee42, Oct 30, 2009
  9. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Now we're both going to hell. :madgrin:
     
    #9 dogfriend, Oct 30, 2009
  10. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Please let us know whether this works.

    I don't have a good feeling about it.
     
    #10 fuzzy1, Oct 30, 2009
  11. Salsawonder

    Salsawonder New Member

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    But then we would most probably be making her life better. Having one leg shorter (3") than the other has made my mother's back a twisted mess. Mostly due to the fact that she was too vain to wear lift shoes.

    I found it interesting that this 14 year old boy said the van hit the *Prius*. So often it would be "hey that van just hit that car", don't you think??
     
    #11 Salsawonder, Oct 30, 2009
  12. moxiequz

    moxiequz Weirdo Social Outcast

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    Gah, sorry to hear about this! It's frustrating enough having your car hit without having to go through the rigmarole of tracking down the other driver. I hope the police can get the information on them. Thankfully no one was hurt...

    Now here's something to warm a Toyota marketing exec's cold, cold heart....:) I'm not so surprised though. The Prius has a distinctive shape and image. The young man probably would've been a similar reaction if the van hit a PT Cruiser or VW bug ("Hey, that van just hit that Bug!").
     
    #12 moxiequz, Oct 30, 2009
  13. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    So far nothing is happening. I'm not feeling good about it either. Today the runaround started with my insurance company. They want me to pay the deductible because the other driver is unknown. As far as they are concerned, it doesn't matter that our Prius was just sitting there minding its own business, they still want us to pay. You gotta love Michigan's no-fault insurance. It should be called "It's your fault" insurance.

    My wife said the same thing. It's pretty cool that he knew it was a Prius. Nice kid.

    Tom
     
    #13 qbee42, Oct 30, 2009
  14. TKY

    TKY Member

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    Tom, I'm no expert on HIPAA, but it sounds like the office is being overly cautious, for which their actions may be very justified. It just seems to me HIPAA was enacted to protect medical information. While in the office you could have met the driver, talked with her, and introduced yourselves to each other, all without regard for HIPAA.

    It is very unfortunate this occurred on private property; I'm assuming the you were parked on private property for the doctor's office.

    Good luck. --TK
     
    #14 TKY, Oct 31, 2009
  15. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Well wonder of wonders. Even a blind squirrel gets a nut once in awhile. The driver of the other car called and apologized, and gave me her insurance information. Here is how it came to be:

    The office manager from the doctor's office called the other driver and told her what happened. The other driver had no idea she had backed into our Prius. She said she did feel a bump, but thought it was a rock on the parking lot. I believe this was a genuine mistake. Once she realized what had happened, she called and apologized profusely. Perhaps there are still a few okay people in the world.

    Tom
     
    #15 qbee42, Oct 31, 2009
  16. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    So we don't need to rough her up? :madgrin:
     
    #16 dogfriend, Oct 31, 2009
  17. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Hold off the goons for a bit. If she doesn't pay up, I'll let you know. ;)

    Tom
     
    #17 qbee42, Nov 1, 2009
  18. triumph1

    triumph1 Member

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    A rock in a parking lot....SEND THE GOONS!

    I think a lot of time old folks play the sympathy game too much. They use "old" as an excuse for saying and doing whatever the want. Good for her though for coming clean.

    Similar thing happened a while back to me. I parked my car in front of a friends house at a Christmas party. Right across the street, was where the driveway let out of another house. My car was all caved in when I came out, and it was obvious that someone leaving the house from across the street hit it backing out of the driveway. I confronted the folks at the house, and they gave me the name and number of the person that left. When I called, he said "Oh, I thought I just hit some trash cans".

    Wth?? So is it OK just to bash in a row of trash cans and drive off? People these days......
     
    #18 triumph1, Nov 1, 2009
  19. Bobsprius

    Bobsprius BobPrius

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    Qbee42,
    Sorry to hear about the BUMP on your corner of the car. I guess at least the person involved was known at the Office so hopefully you will be able to get the information from either the Police or Insurance. HIPPAA can be tough but based on the circumstances, I am sure they will get the name and information for your claim.

    You try so hard to avoid these things but you never know. I shop late just to avoid the parking lot dings and dents...and it never fails I can park all the way to the opposite end of a lot, no one around for 100 Feet and come out and find a car right next to me! :mad:

    Is it the Prius Jealousy??? :)
     
    #19 Bobsprius, Nov 1, 2009
  20. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Yes, there are. I'm glad it worked out. :)
     
    #20 hyo silver, Nov 1, 2009
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