Drunk driver hit me

Mercury · **on:** January 17, 2013, 09:22:13 PM

A little late here, as I work a ton and haven't had time to sit down and post this.

Two nights ago I was on my way home from work and a drunk girl coming towards me fell asleep at the wheel and spun out of control into my lane at 55 mph. I swerved but we have a ton of snow in the center lane so I couldnt avoid it. She was broadside to me and I hit her front bumper and fender on the passenger side of my truck, destroying the front end of her car and crushing part of my bumper and fender. The reinforcement bar in her bumper sliced clean through my tire.

I wasn't injured, but I saw that I had knocked her into the ditch so I got out and ran down to help, and she got out of her car and ran away!!!

Even left her wallet in the car, which really pleased the state trooper that responded to my 911 Call. Turns out she was driving her friends car with no insurance and a suspended license.

The reason I think she was drunk is I got to talk to her as she was running away, I asked if she was alright and told her she should stay put but she looked at me with huge eyes and said she was going home. She seemed pretty out of it.

So tomorrow I get to take my truck to a body shop and get an estimate. Luckily I DO have insurance.

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Landrew · **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:27:37 PM

Too bad there's no drunk driving simulator requirement for getting a license.

AHB · **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:39:46 PM

Phew, glad you're alright buddy..

Any chance she could have been in shock and not drunk.?

Steinar · **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:41:23 PM

Yikes! Really happy you weren't hurt! (And happy the drunk idiot wasn't hurt either... Though my sympathy for drunk drivers is very limited!

)

dks · **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:42:53 PM

Good to hear you are OK. Nice to see women still hit on you!

I will steer clear of any women drivers jokes

Driving drunk takes a lot of practice, by the way..

Landrew · **Reply #5 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:44:17 PM

It's easy to quit drinking; people have done it millions of times.

enki_ck · **Reply #6 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:44:55 PM

Quote from: Landrew on January 17, 2013, 09:27:37 PM

Too bad there's no drunk driving simulator requirement for getting a license.

So you think people should the taught how to drive drunk?

I feel your pain, Sean. Did the test her for alcohol later? I hope your insurance costs don't get bigger cause of an accident that wasn't your fault. Was it that nice Chevrolet you bought last winter?

THE_LONGBOW · **Reply #7 on:** January 17, 2013, 09:50:19 PM

First of all glad you are OK. In Washington State drivers convicted of DUI are now required to install a Breathalyzer in their vehicles. I know this does not help in your situation but it is a step in the right direction.
I was being followed by a drunk driver so I turned into a parking lot to avoid her. She followed me in and ran into me. Same thing she had no insurance, and I made it worse by pulling onto private property. Lesson learned!

stealth007s · **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2013, 10:06:26 PM

Quote from: Landrew on January 17, 2013, 09:27:37 PM

Too bad there's no drunk driving simulator requirement for getting a license.

Really?¿?

So glad your ok Sean. It's like in the water or something with the vehicle issues and crashes here lately.

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nuphoria · **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2013, 10:16:46 PM

Really good to hear you are ok - that's the most important thing here

Good on you for trying to help the stupid fool too.

Bloody pain that you have to deal with getting your repairs done on your own insurance; is there not some way she can be sued for that given that she obviously broke a few laws whilst endangering your life?

@Landrew, perhaps you should consider not posting in a thread like this if you only have provocative and contentious statements to make.

jerseydevil · **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2013, 10:17:26 PM

Glad you're OK Sean!

Quote from: Landrew on January 17, 2013, 09:44:17 PM

It's easy to quit drinking; people have done it millions of times.

Easy? I don't think that's the word I'd use. Possible? Absolutely. Easy, no.

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2013, 10:42:10 PM

Sean - good to hear you're OK mate.

I was going to type something else ... but changed my mind (self censored).

Merc's OK and that's what counts

kirk13 · **Reply #12 on:** January 18, 2013, 12:12:20 AM

Glad to hear everybody is OK,could have been much worse!

Mercury · **Reply #13 on:** January 18, 2013, 12:54:04 AM

Thanks for the responses! I'm at work running my route so I cant really respond as quick as I like.

To answer allan I think, no she was pretty tipsy. In shock too, but tipsy. And she lost it on dry pavement and slid into the snow in the center lane. Watching her run was kind of comical though. Drunk plodding through a foot of snow uphill is hilarious to watch.

I haven't heard if she was actually drunk yet but I'm fairly certain. Drunk or high. My insurance is gonna go after her but its likely that I am out my $500 deductable and won't get it back.

@enki, yea its my chevy. My baby, now she's all dinged up.

I am ok though, I didn't really even get slowed down when I hit her. I was hitting my brakes but when a truck the size of mine hits a compact car the size of a sardine can its a big lose for the car. I'm just glad I didn't hit her exposed driver door with my beefed up grille. Would have likely killed her. I was doing 55 (the speed limit) and she had to have been doing 65.

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Landrew · **Reply #14 on:** January 18, 2013, 01:17:59 AM

This might make you feel better...

I got hit by an uninsured driver in Montana, and I ended up paying the shot.

82brutus · **Reply #15 on:** January 18, 2013, 01:27:47 AM

Glad you're okay! Sounds like it could have been much worse.

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sawman · **Reply #16 on:** January 18, 2013, 02:04:59 AM

Good to hear you made it out ok. I hope they throw the book at her when they catch up to her

ironraven · **Reply #17 on:** January 18, 2013, 04:03:50 AM

Any thing you can walk away from, man.

As for throwing books, once upon a time, law books were stone tablets- lets throw one of those.

PTRSAK · **Reply #18 on:** January 18, 2013, 04:43:58 AM

Leaving the scene of an accident is a pretty serious offense here. Adds to the fine/imprisonment for just about anything you may have been charged with if you stuck around and it's a near certainty they will catch up with you.

sawman · **Reply #19 on:** January 18, 2013, 05:35:04 AM

Quote from: PTRSAK on January 18, 2013, 04:43:58 AM

Leaving the scene of an accident is a pretty serious offense here. Adds to the fine/imprisonment for just about anything you may have been charged with if you stuck around and it's a near certainty they will catch up with you.

It's a serious offense here too, so I've heard. It always surprising when I hear of someone leaving the scene, when otherwise they could have possibly walked away with just a ticket citation. It makes me think they have something to hide like drugs, drinking or no/or suspended license.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #20 on:** January 18, 2013, 05:40:38 AM

I've been watching this thread, and thinking about the incident, and I'm just happy no one was killed. This could have very easily ended up differently, and I'm glad it didn't, both for you Mercury, and the girl. It sucks that she was doing a number of stupid things, but maybe this will be her wakeup call.

One can hope.

Grathr · **Reply #21 on:** January 18, 2013, 08:18:06 AM

On the pluss side you stopped her before she could have hit something worse, like a pedestrian.
Good thing noone was hurt. But it sucks that you have to pay for the damage she did to your car.

Mercury · **Reply #22 on:** January 18, 2013, 08:22:19 AM

I hope so too.

I am not irritated at paying my deductable I'm just glad neither of us is hurt. My truck will be fine, its possible that I wouldn't have been if it went differently.

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Zed · **Reply #23 on:** January 18, 2013, 11:11:09 AM

Sorry about your truck mate but glad your ok

Craig · **Reply #24 on:** January 18, 2013, 11:33:43 AM

Glad you're not injured

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #25 on:** January 18, 2013, 01:31:55 PM

I'm glad to hear you are OK. To a (much) lesser extent I'm glad she's OK as well. Let's hope that she is smart enough to learn from this incident and clean her smurf up. I hope her friends are smart enough to pick up a few lessons as well.

They say that when you buy an SUV or truck you are buying your safety at the expense of others'. My response to that is simple. My life and the lives (and well being) of those I hold dear are worth more to me than the price at the pump, and if other people feel differently, well, that's their choice and I sure as heck am not going to be responsible for it.

Drunk kids bug me to no end. There are so many laws in place to protect them that they get away with anything and that mentality sticks with them when they get old enough (or sly enough) to start experimenting with drugs and alcohol, and when mixed with the internal combustion engine you end up with a very dangerous mix. If kids could still fight in the school yard they'd learn boundaries, respect and problem solving before they were able to do any real damage.

I'm glad you are OK. I'm glad her life is getting significantly difficult for a very long time as a result of this.

Def

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Singh · **Reply #26 on:** January 19, 2013, 03:59:35 PM

You are VERY lucky. A mentor of mine got hit head-on by a drunk river. My mentor was driving a full sized truck and got hit by a sedan. Even then, he came out of it with two broken legs and a crushed pelvis.

So, she was uninsured and had no license? Yeah, that is more common than you may think.. I see it a lot. Take that as a good reason to get uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of at least $50-$100K.