Hit By a Drunk Driver Tonight

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
My daughter and I got checked out in the ER and are now home. She's knocked out. I don't think I'll be going to sleep anytime soon. I'm sitting here in her room, watching her sleep, like I don't want to leave her side even though I know the accident hardly even phased her.

In Georgia, insurance will pay out for a drunk driver's damages to other property, but not to their own. I'll be calling his insurance in a couple days when the police report comes out.

There were two witnesses to the crash and the camera at the nearby gas station caught the whole thing.

Glad to hear you guys are okay and get an attorney. He/she will handle most of the legwork like getting the police report and verifying coverages. And if you or your spouse miss any work due to caring for your daughter, his PIP or yours might replace lost wages as well as medical, but your health insurance will probably subrogate that anyhow. Hopefully though that's not needed.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
I was driving to the hospital to visit my father-in-law and had my 2 year old daughter in the back. We were going about 40 mph and this guy drove right out in front of us. We are both okay. I immediately got her out of the carseat and she was smiling and laughing. We both got checked out in the ER and cleared.

The Altima is totaled. The front end is destroyed, radiator is busted, hood is smashed up, windshield spiderwebbed, and airbags deployed.

The person that pulled out in front of me drove away with his driver side wheel angled in, fender and hood smashed, and headlight hanging. His car died on him a few streets down and the police got him. He's being charged with a DUI and hit and run. He did have insurance though, fortunately.

In 17 years of driving, this is my first major accident.

BTDT, some cop's dumb drunk daughter failed to yield to a turn-on-green-arrow and plowed her vehicle right into mine. Just one more example of why people are oh so wonderful. Glad you and yours are OK, OP.

 

[Spktyr]

Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
My daughter and I got checked out in the ER and are now home. She's knocked out. I don't think I'll be going to sleep anytime soon. I'm sitting here in her room, watching her sleep, like I don't want to leave her side even though I know the accident hardly even phased her.

In Georgia, insurance will pay out for a drunk driver's damages to other property, but not to their own. I'll be calling his insurance in a couple days when the police report comes out.

There were two witnesses to the crash and the camera at the nearby gas station caught the whole thing.



Go back to the gas station tomorrow with a large capacity USB flash disk and get a copy of the video. Those things are often on a cycle and will overwrite events when storage fills up. By the time the cops or the insurance company gets to it, it may be too late - a friend recently had his roommate steal most of the electronic and tool contents of his house and home shop while he was away at work. The roommate waited a couple hours, then called my friend and claimed he came home to find the door kicked open. He didn't realize that the neighbor's security camera system caught the guy walking in, then loading up his van with everything kicking the rear door in then driving off until after he'd made up his story. By the time my friend realized that the cameras might have gotten something, called me in and we got ahold of the neighbor, there was less than a day left before it would have been overwritten - and this was in the same week. This was an LTS system often used in, well, gas stations.

I would strongly advise you to get your own copy of that video at the earliest opportunity, make multiple backups of it, and keep them in a safe place.

(As for my friend's erstwhile roommate, he is currently a guest of the county and won't be going anywhere soon as he's been unable to bond out.)

 

[AZjeff]

Thank God you and your precious little girl are OK.

2 assumptions have been made in this thread.

First that this drunk driver is an alcoholic and second that he wants to get sober. Hopefully he is held legally accountable for his actions and one way or the other gets his life straightened out.

I was nearly killed by a drunk driver in 1982 and have little sympathy. 38 years later I still have no trouble seeing headlights coming around a right hand turn in my lane.

The 1982 Citation that my wife and I had bought new was paid off the month before. No insurance, suspended license.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by RazorsEdge
The most important thing is you all are OK.

Second, anyone who is drinking and driving deserves to be behind bars a long, long time so I hope he likes the view of steel bars as he'll be seeing them soon enough.

I am certainly not defending the guy, but tossing anyone in jail who drinks & drives is not the solution. Treatment for their addiction is a much better way forward.

Take away their license and give it back upon successful completion of rehab. Do it again, take their license away for life.

Glad no one was hurt.

 

[Spktyr]

Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by RazorsEdge
The most important thing is you all are OK.

Second, anyone who is drinking and driving deserves to be behind bars a long, long time so I hope he likes the view of steel bars as he'll be seeing them soon enough.

I am certainly not defending the guy, but tossing anyone in jail who drinks & drives is not the solution. Treatment for their addiction is a much better way forward.

Take away their license and give it back upon successful completion of rehab. Do it again, take their license away for life.

Glad no one was hurt.



They drive without a license, too.

 

[Lapham3]

As a part of researching and finding past wars dead for a war memorial, I came across a long newspaper article about the problem of drunk driving. It covered the full range of past examples and options for the future. It could have been written today, but the year was 1952, so still an unsolved problem.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
...
In Georgia, insurance will pay out for a drunk driver's damages to other property, but not to their own. I'll be calling his insurance in a couple days when the police report comes out.

...


What is the OCGA on that?

Glad everyone is OK, cars can be fixed or replaced.

 

[sopususer]

So if you buy the premise that Alcoholism is a disease, ok....maybe it is out of your control. However when you get behind the wheel you make a conscious choice. If you choose to take the chance and hurt some innocent person I have ZERO issue with a long drying out in a nice warm jail cell. Hit and run on top of that, it's doubtful this person has any remorse, but they can be made to regret their decision.

I don't drink. That's my personal choice. Too many negatives and very few positives with alcohol IMHO.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted by Elkins45
Does his insurance pay if he's drunk? Is it legally possible they could use this as grounds to deny a claim, much like not paying off if a a car they cover kills someone when used to flee a bank robbery?

A bullet in the head cures all addictions...just saying.


Yes.

 

[supton]

Glad to hear you came out ok. Sounds like the car did as designed, took the hit and kept the cargo safe.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by RazorsEdge
The most important thing is you all are OK.

Second, anyone who is drinking and driving deserves to be behind bars a long, long time so I hope he likes the view of steel bars as he'll be seeing them soon enough.

I am certainly not defending the guy, but tossing anyone in jail who drinks & drives is not the solution. Treatment for their addiction is a much better way forward.


Lets not forget, people sometimes also make a once in a lifetime mistake as far as drinking but no excuse for the hit and run.
Glad the OP and daughter are ok.

As far as insurance, you are covered no matter where you live in the country, dont even give it a thought, insurance will pay.

 

[mcrn]

I am glad you are ok and im sorry you and your daughter had to go through this.

What kind of car was the drunk driving?

 

[doitmyself]

A very stressful and potentially life altering situation. Be mindful to take care of yourself and your daughter to get through this the best possible. Anxiety and everything else associated with an accident of this nature will take its toll and wear you down. Rely on you support network if needed.

I'm happy to hear that you both seemed to escape any physical harm. Give your daughter a hug and we all wish you the best in the weeks to come.

 

[Kira]

I'm in with this conversation. I do have one question.

A friend in North Carolina had a pal with over 15 DWIs. What gives with that?

Honestly, every once in a while you hear about a such an accomplished drunk.

What do they do for money? It's gotta cost something to haul an attorney down to the jailhouse and into court repeatedly.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
My daughter and I got checked out in the ER and are now home. She's knocked out. I don't think I'll be going to sleep anytime soon. I'm sitting here in her room, watching her sleep, like I don't want to leave her side even though I know the accident hardly even phased her.

In Georgia, insurance will pay out for a drunk driver's damages to other property, but not to their own. I'll be calling his insurance in a couple days when the police report comes out.

There were two witnesses to the crash and the camera at the nearby gas station caught the whole thing.


I know the feeling. I've reported a couple of obvious DUI's over the years, one of them ended up in the paper. I've been lucky not to be on the receiving end of their stupidity at this point.

 

[Trav]

Glad to hear you are both okay. I have been hit by drunk drivers twice and one drove over me with her car after she knocked me off my MC, I was not okay and still not to this day. Long story and something I don't want to think about but the people that drive drunk need to be jailed.

 

[kstanf150]

Goodness, glad both of you are ok and not hurt !
For the drunk driver hopefully this life changing event will effect him in a profound positive way and make him realize that this time no one lost their life because of his very stupid action
Again
This is not the first the the DD has driven drunk I'm sure
Nobody gets caught the first time doing wrong

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by 5AcresAndAFool
Ultimately in a wreck where I am not at fault my insurance pays me and then attempts to recover the money from their insurance, at least that's what happened when I got rear ended.

That's how reputable insurance companies should handle it. You/we are their client/customer so they should take care of us and they deal with the other person's insurance.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Lubener
Take away their license and give it back upon successful completion of rehab. Do it again, take their license away for life.

What makes you think they won't drive just because they don't have a silly little card in their wallet ? They drive drunk !