What kind of person broadsides another person and just leaves the scene of the accident?!?!  grrr......

Today I went into the city to get some things taken care of between the neurosurgery office and work, and I was in the Philly Art Museum Circle in a lane to head out on West River Drive.  This big white van merged into my lane while blowing the horn and a woman yelling out the passenger side window and smacked right into the rear driver's side door and just above that rear tire.

The driver then sped up in front of me onto West River Drive, and at the first traffic light, turned left and was gone.  I didn't stop immediately because there is absolutely no safe place to stop in the Art Museum Circle or on the early parts of WRD, so I went through the light where the other driver went left - with my flashers on and waving them to pull over with me - and pulled into a parking lot.

I'm fine - and the car doesn't have much damage really - but STILL!!  So then I waited nearly 2 hours for the police, after 3 calls to 911!!  I had the plate number off the van, but didn't know the make and model - it was an 80s-90s big white van - one of those ones with the higher tops on it.  I told the police the plate number, which I'm almost certain was right on, and the plate number matched up with a 2007 Cadillac!  So either I was wrong on the plate or they used a bogus plate or switched their plates around.  The police officer still wrote up a report - he was very nice and gave me the info for getting the DS numbers later tonight or tomorrow.

I called my ins. company too - and I have to bring my car out to a certain garage to get it evaluated to see if the damage is higher than my deductible.  Why do I have the feeling I'm going to get screwed here?  Hit and run driver leaves the scene (if that's not redundant!), no witnesses, my word against theirs, and the plate doesn't even match the vehicle!  Hopefully though, the damage can be repaired for little cost!

My old car would have crumbled like a cookie with the force of the impact that this guy hit me at!  Fortunately my Nissan is a good, sturdy car, even if it is nearly 10 years old!

I swear I need to live in a bubble or something...!  Wish people had a little more moral conscience in this world!!

Thanks for listening to my rant!
Carrie :)

Carrie,

The whole world if "F"ed up.

Jimmers

OMG!!!!!!!!!!
So good to hear you are ok Carrie. What is up with that other driver?????????????????????

Be safe.  
  Barry [smiley=hug.gif]

First of all, I am glad to hear you are okay.  That's the most important thing.

The Art Museum Circle.....YAK!  I hate driving around that thing.  First of all it makes me dizzy and then there are the wonderful drivers who could care less that your vehicle is even on the same stretch of road as they are.

So you want to live in a bubble, eh?  Let me know if you have extra room....I'll be glad to join ya!

You certainly do have streaks of bad luck honey.

Hope it gets better for you

Thanks all...

I think it was just one of Philly's finest citizens who hit me and left the scene...  I mean, this is the city of brotherly love?!  ha......  Live here for awhile and you'll see how NOT true that is! lol...

All my friends and family think it was probably a stolen plate...  I bet they are probably right.  I have to call tomorrow and get the DS numbers from the police and call the insurance company with the update and police info.  Then I will wait and hear from the insurance adjuster and take the car in to get an official estimate.  Because I don't think there are any actual dents (amazing really - with the force of impact!), I really don't think the cost will be that great - but I'll wait and see what they say with the estimate!

I don't see how this is not going to end up with my being stuck with it....even though I didn't cause the accident and did everything proper.  I guess there is a clause for when an uninsured driver hits you, but then does that apply for a hit-and-run driver with invalid plates?  I guess that's why the insurance agent wants me to get the car evaluated to see if it would cost more than my deductible to repair!

Cyn - there's always room in the bubble.  I think Lisa (swimchica) is going to have to move in with me.  She and I have been talking this week and we both appear to have black clouds that follow us around whereever we go!  If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all! ;)

Hugz,
Carrie :)

OK so now in addition to my car being hit today...I forgot that the left taillight is out and needs replacing.  And then last week this "Service Engine Soon" light came on - I had brought the car manual in to check if this was just some routine light or what - since I've never seen a light like this.  Just read the manual and it turns out that is the same as the "Check Engine" Light!!  So now I need to take the car to the insurance company's approved garage for the accident estimate on Monday, and I also need to go to my usual car place to get a new taillight and get the engine diagnosed!

I cannot afford to spend another penny on this car right now - not with moving next month and being out of work with a reduced income!  I already spent nearly $1000 on the car this summer alone - needed new tires (was an urgent need - one tire was about to go and my tires were the wrong size from when I bought the car from auction), had to be realigned, balanced, rotated (tires) - then had the one bracket holding the exhaust pipe in place rot out and had to get a whole new exhaust.  Now all this.  And I think the brakes will not pass next inspection in October, so I'll be getting those replaced as well.

My mom keeps saying better these small, one-time payments than to have a regular car payment.  Afterall, I did get the car for a reduced price when I could NOT afford to have a car payment - my parents sold their Explorer and my old Sable and then we paid about $1500 extra to get this 2000 Maxima off auction.  It is a GREAT car - but it is costing a pretty penny lately!

I'm starting to wonder if a new car payment might be worth it....  Not yet!!

Get in that bubble already.  I know what you mean.  my car is a testament to the lack of decent people living in the Philly area.  3 of the 4 corners of my vehicle have been hit in parking lots.  It happened a 4th time but the little old lady left a note.  If you are interested, I know of a GOOD AND CHEAP AND HONEST mechanic right off 95 at cottman ave.  He has saved my family plenty of cahs over the years.  I have a company car so I get my car fixed where I am told to.  I am sure it was a stolen plate from a stolen cadillac.

I have had 1 car stolen and another car they tried to steal before breaking my steering column.  2 more years and I'm out of this city.  The suburbs await.  Hope your luck turns for the better

Kev,

I totally know what you mean.  Philly sucks, doesn't it?!  My old car was TRASHED by the city!  Actually, even in Narberth - this quiet perfect town - where I have to park on the street, someone actually smashed out my side-view mirror glass.  But that old Sable was a junker.  I hated that car from the  day I got it.  It got hit in parking lots on a couple different occasions.  Got hit one day parked on Chestnut St. in University City.  The car was keyed.  All the hubcaps were stolen.  It was such a shame - that car royally suffered from Philly.  Not to mention all the damn potholes.  Wasn't Mayor Street (such a great mayor he was!) supposed to fix all those city potholes?  I still play games trying to avoid all the known ones to and from work!

Jason (my bf) got a new Altima this summer, and because it gets great gas mileage, after we move to our new apt, he was suggesting maybe I take his car to work since it is about a 35 minute commute for me and a <10 minute commute for him.  I said NO WAY!!!  I would NEVER take his brand new car into Philly on a daily basis.

The cheapest parking garage for employees to park in is this valet lot near the hospital.  One kid's brand new luxury car got rammed into a wall there, and the garage claimed no responsibility.  Another coworker's car got stolen.  My old car got hit against a yellow pole there.  Needless to say, I pay a little extra, but I don't park there anymore!

I have no doubt it probably was a stolen plate off a stolen caddy.  The cop at first asked if I was sure about the plate, but I was - then he made this face.  You could tell he was thinking I was SOL with this situation...  He was nice to me, though.

Where do you live in Philly now?  Right in the city?  Our ultimate goal is to end up back out in Downingtown in a few years - which is where my parents are and where I lived from 1992 through when I left for college.  It is going to be very hard for me to leave Narberth next month, but even here on 4th of July this woman backed into my car getting out of a parking spot and got out of her car screaming at my boyfriend because he called her an a-hole for hitting my car!  No place is safe...!  We would definitely like to end up way out of the city, though!  I love my job, but I don't know if I will stay in the city hospital forever.  Yes, the clientele can be rough (some, but not all), but mainly what kills me is the driving in and out of the city and experiencing all the rude people in the city.

Another time, I was leaving the hospital parking lot, and this lady left like a whole block in front of her and the next car, and she was going nowhere.  I tapped my horn to get her to move a bit, after missing several lights.  She stopped her car, got out with arms flailing, and ran right up to my car window screaming and calling me all these swear words.  It is just not a warm and fuzzy place!

Take care,
Carrie :)

hahaha...at least i am not the only who hates it here.  I am in the Northeast.  Right near Holy family University.   I use to be so easy going.  I believe living here has turned me into a Type A personality.  There are some things I like about living here but not much.  Its the most racist city anywhere I believe.  Whites hate blacks, blacks hate white.  The crime, graffitti, traffic.   If your a prgnant woman, you have to leave the city to have a baby.  Is it possible for everyone to cut their grass, sweep outside their house.  I have 2 sex offenders living close enough where I can hit their house with a chipping wedge.  One of them is about to get an ass kicking from me by the way.  The schools are a disgrace.  Catholic highschools cost $5800 a year right now.  Decaying neigborhoods

That being said......Go EAGLES, FLYERS, PHILLIES, SIXERS.  We're close to the Jersey shore, the poconos.  Cheese steaks rock.  Thats all I can really think of!!

Man, that sux.  You would think the police would track that Caddy to see if the plates are still on it.  They might not even know they were stolen.

I am in almost the same boat as you.  I want the reliability and warranty of a new car, but I can not afford a NICE new car.  So, I am not sure if I want to get a 3 or 4 year old luxury car with potential problems, or a brand new piece of shit that I won't like driving.

It could be worse: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

My mom went to that funeral last weekend (I still can't handle funerals, so I didn't go). Dune was a boy from a poor family who stayed with our family for a week one summer, and a weekend the next summer.

Carrie as ASB said it could be much worse, thankfully YOU are OK.

A car is just a form of transport to get you from A to B. whats a few dents.  My car has aquired one or two over the years some by me some not, as long as it goes and is safe who cares.

Having a shiny unmarked and scrach free car is just something else to worry about, much more important things in life than a dent in metal to worry about.

Philly is such a wonderful place to drive.  I have to laugh at the wankers who fly by me on the Platt Bridge at about 80 mph.  I always meet up with them as they are sitting at the red light on the other side of the bridge to turn onto the Schuylkill Expressway (AKA, Sure Kill Expressway)

I think turn signals on cars in Philly are optional, too.

The only time I ever saw a glimmer of considerate driving was on 9/11/2001 when we were all sent home from work early.  People were actually stopping to let cars out of side streets, there was no yelling or horn blowing....strange indeed.

If you can drive in Philly, you can drive anywhere.

Lizzie2 wrote on Aug 21^st, 2008 at 10:59pm:

Just read the manual and it turns out that is the same as the "Check Engine" Light!!  So now I need to take the car to the insurance company's approved garage for the accident estimate on Monday, and I also need to go to my usual car place to get a new taillight and get the engine diagnosed!

A 2000 Maxima is a great car.  I own one too  8-)
Take the car to an Auto Zone and ask them to pull the trouble codes.  Ask for any secondary codes too.  I'll tell you what the computer is saying.

I'm glad you are in one piece!

-Dennis-
(edited because I can't spell)

Quote:

I swear I need to live in a bubble or something...!  Wish people had a little more moral conscience in this world!!

I agree. And sure glad your weren't hurt.
all the best
thebb

Oh Carrie - I'm so sorry, what a horrible old bat that other driver was. Don't worry though, she'll get hers - that sort always do. You can't be that mean and have friends so she's poorer than you will ever be in way's that matter.

I'm glad your'e okay
Helen xxx

Thanks guys!  I know it's just a car - it really never was about the car itself - just rather the nerve of a person who would hit you and leave. :-/

ASB - I know it could be much worse and am thankful it was not.  I'm very sorry about Dune. :(  Actually a few weeks ago, two girls I know (one a senior in high school and the other going into 8th grade) were hit by a speeding, drunk 22 year old who had left the bar about a minute before hitting them.  The girls were at a movie.  The youngest was killed.  I had known of their family for a long time, but had just met the youngest and her mom personally at a recent hair appointment.  She was SUCH a sweet kid.  It was very, very upsetting...   :'(

I've actually always been rather afraid of cars and accidents - almost irrationally.  But my father was almost killed by a speeding driver who ran a stop sign back 11 years ago or so.  I always have respect for the road, that is for sure!

Good to know others find Philly to be as impossible a place as I do!  Jason and I were just talking today about moving down south - which is where he went to school.  Problem is, my masters-specific program is only offered at a handful of universities - one of which is in Philly.  Otherwise, we've had enough of this town!

BMonee - I actually think I will ask the police if they ever tracked down the caddy or the car with that particular plate.  They may have tried, although with Philly's crime rate, I'm sure they had more pressing matters at hand!

Dennis - Thanks for the advice.  I was planning to take the car to the one place for the accident estimate - as approved by the insurance company.  Then I was planning to take it to the garage of a family friend for the other issues - but as it turns out, today as Jason and I were running some errands, the light went off!  So all is well now - we'll just see how it does for inspection in October!  I really do love the car - owned it for just a year.  It has been an expensive few months working on it, but it is a great car!  It definitely needs new brakes - so that will be soon.

Anyway - thanks all!  I do realize how much worse it could have been, and that it's just a car, afterall!  Mostly I was upset about the nature of a hit-and-run, but then - some people have no moral compass, I think!  Helen is right - she'll get hers eventually!  Just wasn't a needed experience or event on top of everything else right now, and in lieu of being out of work at the moment!

Hugz,
Carrie :)

Carrie,

I'm glad you weren't hurt and that it's only car damage.

I'm wondering - if the plates were bogus, possibly stolen, and there's a women yelling out of the passenger window - is that woman OK?  Why or what was she yelling?

Could this be something like a kidnapping of that woman?  Anything on the news about a missing person?

Sounds really creepy to me.

Sandy

Sandy_C wrote on Aug 23^rd, 2008 at 4:24pm:

Carrie, I'm glad you weren't hurt and that it's only car damage. I'm wondering - if the plates were bogus, possibly stolen, and there's a women yelling out of the passenger window - is that woman OK?  Why or what was she yelling? Could this be something like a kidnapping of that woman?  Anything on the news about a missing person? Sounds really creepy to me. Sandy

Good point but she definitely didn't appear to be kidnapped as she was clearly yelling at me about my driving, even though I was in the proper lane.  I could hear what she was saying right after they hit me - later when they sped off at the first stop light we came to, I couldn't hear what she was saying - but she was pointing ahead to the place where I was going to pull over, so I thought she was going ahead to it to stop and discuss the accident with me.  Instead they drove off the other direction.  I'll certainly check with the police, but I'm hoping they have at least looked into the possibility that it is a stolen plate or possibly even stolen van/crime ring. (?)

I don't know for sure, but she appeared to be a willing passenger in the car - yelling at me for whatever reason - even though they had merged into my lane and hit the rear driver side of my car.  I'll never know for sure, since they didn't stop.  Nothing on the news regarding missing persons or anything of that nature since then, though - but in Philly - well, lots happens that never makes the news.... :-/

Carrie