carnage

[sctattooer]

I got woke up in the middle of the night to this:

Drunk driver took out the corner of the garage. My wife's new mustang was in there, and it was pushed forward about 3 feet. The lady backed up and tried to get away, I had to yank her out of her van and wrestle her keys away from her.

She said she has lots of money and could pay for it in cash, so please dont call the police. Hahahaha.

Now I get to play a waiting game to see if her insurance is going to pay. In the meantime, I get to look at this every day and not be able to use the garage.


She traveled a long way off the road without ever hitting her brakes.

 

[ZRX61]

Unfortunate she didn't hit that pole first, would have saved a lot of grief...

 

[bchee]

looks like there's a big ditch there. That didn't stop her?!?!?!

 

[wrigh003]

Wow. I am guessing the wrestling match was brief. Looks like she failed to negotiate that difficult and treacherous left hander and just came straight on. Was she even conscious when she ran off the road/ hit your garage, I wonder?

Looks like she made it through the ditch there pretty well, what was she driving?

 

[ZRX61]

So what happened when the cops showed up? I'm assuming she failed the "hole in the ground/*******" differentation test?

 

[boiler7904]

Damn. That *****. How much damage to the Mustand? What was her blood-alcohol level when it happened?

We had a guy down the street from us do that to his own garage about a month ago. Difference is that he was pulling into his own driveway. He was so drunk when he did it (about 3:00 on a sunday afternoon) that he backed up and did it again.

 

[timgr]

Wow is right. Damn straight you're calling the police.

 

[jay50]

I hope the cops got the goods on that drunk *****. Keep tabs on the case so she doesn't walk; next time might not be property damage but fatality

 

[rsanter]

not sure what the rules in your state are, however in may states that they are getting very strict with DUI
about 10 years ago my wife, daughter and I were hit by a drunk driver. the car was a total loss but we mostly walked away with minor injuries.
insurance paid for the car after the usual battel and we ended up with less than I thought was fair. we got some money for medical/loss wages...etc. it was less than I thought was fair. he had crappy insurance and they paid out to his low minimum level of coverage.
on the other hand he was prosucuted by the DA and sent to jail for 3 years with another 3 or 5 for probation (with some strict rules) and he was ordered to pay restitution (like a punitive damage) in the amount of the damage he caused. this was regardless of the fact that insurance paid. because it was also concidered that he caused 'damage' to the state by using police, fire, and court services, the judge also granted restitution to the city/state for the cost of the police services to come out, for the fire department to come out and even had to pay the cost for his trial.
for a fathers day gift from him I got a check in the mail from the state where they have been attaching his wages and tax returns...etc. another $900 into my pocket...thank you.
dont sign anything with the insurance company that will limit your ability to collect restitution. it is concidered by some courts to be a form of punitive compensation to the injured parties. the damage of property makes that a felony DUI so you may benifit from the same thig to compensate you for your troubles

bob

 

[sctattooer]

Thanks for the info. She was twice the legal limit, driving a full size van. She claimed she was on her way home, but she lives down the road, and was coming from her house. If she'd have made it past my house she'd have made it out to hwy 90, where she certainly would have killed someone.
There are no marks at the ditch that make me think the van was slowed by the ditch at all, in fact, it almost looks like she was airborne over the ditch.
The mustang needs a new bumper, bumper cover and taillight. I was also told that because the car now has to be filed with an insurance company as repaired, it lowers the resale value of the car. That *****, as this car has less than 1000 miles on it, and has been in the garage every day and never even seen rain. She loves that car.

 

[1320stang]

I'd say some concrete filled pipe bollards out along the highline wire would help to prevent it from happening again.

I used to live in a residential neighborhood that had a similar curve, but with curbs and a lot more houses. The neighbor in the corner had his mailbox post made up of a 12" diameter, 1/4" thick steel pipe that was 5' into the ground and filled with concrete. His front door was in direct line with the street if someone didn't turn. Marks showed it had been hit before.

 

[boiler7904]

I'd say some concrete filled pipe bollards out along the highline wire would help to prevent it from happening again.

Decorative boulders and a landscaped berm would probably look better.

 

[BooUrns!]

This strikes me as a one in a million incident. I wouldn't bother trying to put up addtional barriers. Just take the money and fix the car and garage. Unless this woman is a chronic drunk driver, I don't think you will have ot deal with this problem again. Adding unsightly protective structures to protect you from something that has happened already and is unlikely to happen again doesn't strike me as money well spent.

 

[Kevin54]

I'd say some concrete filled pipe bollards out along the highline wire would help to prevent it from happening again.

You can't. If you put up a barrier and it is not approved, someone hits it and gets killed. Guess who is liable? You are. There was a big fuss raised about that a couple of years ago in a city south of here. Peoples house had been hit 2 or 3 times, and the last time the car went into the daughters bedroom. Luckily she was away for the evening. This car travelled a couple of hundred feet to hit this house. It was at a "T" intersection. The people were going to put up some type of reinforced wall to keep it from happening. No huh uh, no way. It created all kinds of contraversy. Final score: Drunks 1, Homeowners 0. It5's a sad day when you can't even protect what is yours and worked hard for, without someone tearing it all to hell and then want to sue. But in your case and the wifes 'Stang out of commission for awhile. If that woman had insurance, then make the best of it. Rent a fairly expensive car and drive the wheels off of it. Tell the body shop to take their time on your Mustang and to get it right.

 

[ZRX61]

Actually the law states that any structure must be "break away" within so many feet of the road. If you put a 150ton boulder 20ft from the road you're fine.

 

[gesoffen]

I was also told that because the car now has to be filed with an insurance company as repaired, it lowers the resale value of the car. That *****, as this car has less than 1000 miles on it, and has been in the garage every day and never even seen rain. She loves that car.

File a diminished value claim with her insurance. They'll laugh at you or brush you off at first so do your homework by:

- Compare values of recent sales (not ads, but actual sales) of similar cars in your area
- Compare book values (private party sale, not whole sale)
- Get post-repair appraisals and compare to the above values. Also, if the appraisers are willing, get a statement in writing estimating the loss in value of the car due to the damage/repair.
- Make sure you insist on your body shop (not her insurance cos "preferred" shop) and make sure you insist on Genuine FoMoCo replacement parts. Ask the body shop to take photos and detailed documentation of the damage/repair as this helps put future potential buyers at ease.

You'll likely have to fight them for every penny. If you're prepared for a long fight, you'll likely get what you think is fair but you may prefer to settle for "close enough".

 

[SteveU]

I used to live in a residential neighborhood that had a similar curve, but with curbs and a lot more houses. The neighbor in the corner had his mailbox post made up of a 12" diameter, 1/4" thick steel pipe that was 5' into the ground and filled with concrete.

A guy I used to work with had a neighbor who did something similar to this because the county snowplows kept taking out his mailbox. County wasn't happy when their road grader hit it with the blade the next winter & started to spin it around, they made him take it down.

 

[trovato]

I know I'm coming in kind of late, reviving this thread, but I have one more thing to add. I once had a conversation with someone from our town highway dept, as they were installing a guard rail on a part of my road. It seems that the homeowner complained about the possible danger and threat to his house. Town highway guy said that because there was a complaint on file, the town would have some liability if something did happen, and therefore they were installing the rail. I don't know what the real liability is, but maybe with this event fresh in the police reports, you can get the town to put a guard rail on that section. You could always ask.

 

[FunfDreisig]

Decorative boulders and a landscaped berm would probably look better.

With the right location & slope on a berm, she could have been airborne at impact

BTW those are very odd tracks in the grass. How exactly do you get four nearly parallel sets of tracks from a van? Unless of course it was actually in a drift all the way from the ditch to the drive/garage.

Funf Dreisig

 

[wilbilt]

Too bad there wasn't a third guy wire.

 

[sctattooer]

BTW those are very odd tracks in the grass. How exactly do you get four nearly parallel sets of tracks from a van? Unless of course it was actually in a drift all the way from the ditch to the drive/garage.

Funf Dreisig

I believe she was.



As the situation now stands, the car is being repaired at one of the highest quality shops in the area. Damage estimate on the car, $1050.
The insurance adjuster who looked at the house told me that 99.9% of all the claims they have is against car accident damage. They almost never pay out on a house, so he really has no idea how to estimate it. He told me to get estimates from 3 contractors who I'd trust to do the work, submit them, and they'll cut a check. (ok, pal, sure, will do). We'll see where it goes from here..


Oh, and BTW, I ended up having to file a restraining order against the woman. She's been at my front door 5 times, crying, apologizing, and telling me how hard it is for her to quit drinking. The last time she came over, I answered the door, and she told me to smell her breath. I was like WHAT? She said yeah, smell my breath. I haven't had a drink in 3 days!! I slammed the door, and went to the courthouse. This chick is looney tunes.

 

[DarrenF]

update? I'm in a similar situation....

 

[carguy123]

You've never said, but you did call the police didn't you?

You filed against her insurance but did you call the police as well?

That would have made any claims a no brainer.

 

[Steve1968LS2]

sue her for "diminished value" on the Mustang...


Too bad she didn't hit the pole.

 

[autoist]

Claim depreciation on the car when you negotiate with her insurance company!

 

[isaac338]

I
Oh, and BTW, I ended up having to file a restraining order against the woman. She's been at my front door 5 times, crying, apologizing, and telling me how hard it is for her to quit drinking. The last time she came over, I answered the door, and she told me to smell her breath. I was like WHAT? She said yeah, smell my breath. I haven't had a drink in 3 days!! I slammed the door, and went to the courthouse. This chick is looney tunes.

for the love of christ - drink all you want, woman, JUST DON'T DRIVE A ******* CAR AFTERWARDS. it's really not a complicated theory.

i hate when drunk drivers beg for mercy cause they have a drinking problem. it's really NOT hard to avoid your car when you're drunk. it was a braindead stupid decision on her part and she deserves everything that's coming to her.

as an engineering student i'm morally obliged to drink like a fish, and guess what? i've never rammed my goddamned truck into someone else's building, because i don't drive when i'm drinking.

kudos on keeping your cool, i don't know what i would have done, and it probably wouldn't have been pretty.

 

[ZRX61]

I think you need to modify that ditch with a backhoe so there is a pond on the corner of your lot....That would stop the next drunk...

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

I think you need to modify that ditch with a backhoe so there is a pond on the corner of your lot....That would stop the next drunk...

Not a bad idea, except for winter and ice might make it give her more speed. Otherwise, Dunk driving.

 

[ZRX61]

Make it so the road side of the pond has a gentle slope.. & the house side of the pond a 3ft vertical bank