Wrecked car, damaged mall, and bailed!

[LillFilly]

A half-hour after opening yesterday maintenance called to let us know there was a unoccupied van sitting on the shoulder of the road that circles our parking lots. We get there and not only is it partially blocking traffic, but we can see that it hit our guardrail.

In fact, this van hit our guardrail, rode it for about 40 feet before it rose too high and the van fell back, losing the right front tire, twisting the right rear tire, and snapping the guardrail supports for another 160 feet! Gouged-up the grass pretty good too.

Now figure, the speed limit on this road around the lots is 15mph, so I can't imagine how fast this person must have been driving! And it was a fairly well kept, clean looking van, so I surmised it belonged to a older person.

Bing. Police find it belongs to an 83yo man. They find him at home. He claims another car 'forced him' off the road, so he called someone for a ride and left.



So, you don't think to call the police after being in a serious accident? Methinks he might not have a license, or shouldn't be driving. Van was current on insurance, so not a big deal for us anyway. And the way the tread marks gradually veer off the road into the guardrail at the beginning of the curve make me think he either wasn't paying attention or dozed-off.

We got to do happy dances anyway, because our new contracted towing company got to tow their first car from us! So this guy is going to owe us 200$ for towing his van, AND the expense of replacing 200+ feet of guardrail, as well as fixing the grass.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

So, you don't think to call the police after being in a serious accident? Methinks he might not have a license, or shouldn't be driving. Van was current on insurance, so not a big deal for us anyway. And the way the tread marks gradually veer off the road into the guardrail at the beginning of the curve make me think he either wasn't paying attention or dozed-off.

I think that last sentence may explain why this guy has no license. Or if he still had license at the time of the accident, he may not keep them after this, especially given his age. If he has family, they may have no choice now but to intervene and have his license taken away.

I've heard way too many stories of older drivers dozing off behind the wheel and causing a major accident - one couple who used to shop with us on Phillips Avenue were killed, along with their daughter in law driving home from their beach house - the wife fell asleep at the wheel of their van and ended up colliding with a truck, killing her, her hubby and DIL.

Sad part was, both the wife and her hubby had not been retired long (she from the local school system, he from a local tv station where he worked as a cameraman for the evening news program.)

And another similar accident happened to another couple my mom and I knew - only this happened near DC - wife dozed off and had an accident (they were on their way home from a family wedding out of state IIRC.) Her hubby was killed, she survived.

The fact that this guy in the OP didn't hit another vehicle or injure himself was miraculous though. It could have ended MUCH worse.

[taxguykarl]

Good to see no one was injured and that he was insured. I hope his family hears about this incident--they'll be more able to convince him to quit driving. If they can't your state's DMV will as walking away from an accident like that without notifying law enforcement is flirting with a license suspension (at least here in Illinois).

[MoonCat]

My guess is he didn't call the cops because he knew people would make an issue of his age, and he doesn't want to give up driving.

[LillFilly]

Unfortunately, since it's private property not having a license doesn't matter; the police didn't say if he had one or not.

Oh, it turns out the vehicle was registered to his wife, so I bet SHE won't be too happy!

[Dave1982]

He could just as easily have been drunk. But regardless, no one in their right mind leaves the scene of an accident like that - abandoning their vehicle in the process - unless they KNOW they've well and truly screwed the pooch.

[BrenDAnn]

Hmm...Why does the fact that it's registered to his wife make me wonder if this was done on purpose? Well, I mean, it being an 83 year old aside...he COULD, theoretically, have gotten pissed at said wife, and decided to trash her car. What? Don't tell me that only happens in that one song. I have an overactive imagination. I'm sorry.

[barainga]

Reminds me of that bad joke.
"I hope I die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming like the people in his car.'

I DID say it was bad.

[Andara Bledin]

Heh. I've usually heard it as, "I hope I die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like the passengers on his bus."

^-.-^

[MadMike]

He could just as easily have been drunk. But regardless, no one in their right mind leaves the scene of an accident like that - abandoning their vehicle in the process - unless they KNOW they've well and truly screwed the pooch.

A few years ago, someone crashed their car into a daycare center, late at night, and left a pretty good-sized hole in the front of the building. He left the scene (I guess by some miracle his vehicle was still driveable), and then turned himself in the next day.

I'm guessing he was drunk when it happened, and he waited until he had sobered up the next day to come forward. I'm sure he still got in trouble for the accident, and then leaving the scene of it, but he may have decided that staying at the scene and being found drunk would have been a lot worse.

[suburbandecay]

I'm guessing he was drunk when it happened, and he waited until he had sobered up the next day to come forward. I'm sure he still got in trouble for the accident, and then leaving the scene of it, but he may have decided that staying at the scene and being found drunk would have been a lot worse.

This isn't true everywhere, but leaving the scene of an accident is nowhere near as bad as getting hit with a dui. Yeah, your insurance goes up, but you don't get the party plates, the license suspension, and heavy fine/mandatory classes that a dui requires.

[blas]

You can be my ex bf and get slapped with both (initially, though. In the end, his mega expensive fancy lawyer got every charge but the DUI dropped, and that's because it was the big felony). He was drunk as hell, crashed his car into a tree, despite having broke his leg, still attempted to get out and run.

Like no one would wake up and call the police. Like no cop would be smart enough to trace the plates back to his parents' house, where the only person in the house with an active criminal record is him.

[csquared]

I'm guessing he was drunk when it happened, and he waited until he had sobered up the next day to come forward. I'm sure he still got in trouble for the accident, and then leaving the scene of it, but he may have decided that staying at the scene and being found drunk would have been a lot worse.

This isn't true everywhere, but leaving the scene of an accident is nowhere near as bad as getting hit with a dui. Yeah, your insurance goes up, but you don't get the party plates, the license suspension, and heavy fine/mandatory classes that a dui requires.

A lot of states now treating "leaving the scene" the same as a DUI for just that reason.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

A lot of states now treating "leaving the scene" the same as a DUI for just that reason.

I suspect that's what happened with the young guy who fled the scene last November when he was flying down my road, hit another car - twice - and then crashed into the front of the beauty shop across from my house.

Not only did he and his buddy jump out of the car and beat feet down the side road, the young guy was brought back up there to the scene by his dad.

Of course the cops are going to call your dad, doofus. It was HIS car you wrecked and fled the scene from. With the license plate still on the vehicle so the cops could run a plate check.

Even if they didn't have the plate, they could run a search on the VIN number. Either way, you're pretty much screwed blewed and tattooed.

[Pagan]

He wouldn't have necessarily been drunk or dozed off. How many times have we seen stories that somebody mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal?