Help me resolve my hit and run issue

[Lost_N_Austin]

I returned to my vehicle after taking my wife and grandkids to eat Pizza at Home Slice on South Congress. Yum Yum.

When I arrived back at my vehicle, there is a lady standing there who had just put a note on my windshield. She explained the note and told me that she and her husband had watched my vehicle get backed into "No less than three times". The lady said they observed my vehicle move back about six inches each time as this new black Cadillac bashed my front bumper over and over again trying to get out of the space in front of me.

The only apparent damage was the black Cadillac paint particles left on the screw heads of the license plate mounted on my front bumper. I took it in to my body shop guy and they looked it over for me just to make sure.

Now for my request for help. I'd like to locate the perp. who was driving the Cadillac. So where can I get Owner information related to the Texas license plate number that the good samaritan took down for me?

I think I'd like to send them a message to let them know that they can't get away with that type of behavior without someone being aware of it.

Lost_N_Austin

[getbent]

good place to start.

[Skintight]

Could be worse, could have left you a note like this:

[boris bubbanov]

I hate to quibble, but this is not "Hit and Run" in my estimation.

It sounds infuriating. I'd be livid. It is more like vandalism, though. I feel very strongly that only motor vehicle events where a pedestrian is actually hit, or where vehicles collide where one is at some speed, should get this precious attribution. If you use it for someone letting their car door slip away and hit your car (which can do more damage than you've described) pretty soon the category is full up with static, and the Sanduskys get lost in the shuffle when we do this.

My neighbors' Buick was hit on the main street the other night, and debris was strewn all down the block. I am not sure how the drunk drove away, but he did. Let's save the category of "hit and run" for the big events. I am not saying this is trivial, I just don't like the confusion it brings.

[purpletele]

There's always the non-emergency police number too.

[timgreene]

Did you call the police, and report? If you have the license plate, you simply go to the County Tax Assessor's office and purchase an abstract of title for the license plate number.

[bendecaster]

Why would you want to find someone that is probably wasted or obviously dosen't give a good Frig about you. If you report this to the police, they can handle this, as I believe this IS a crime. This person didn't bump your car and drive off, they slammed repeatedly into your car! This person IS a nut case! What do you think he will do when you show up wanting him to pay for it?

Please be safe and don't deal with psycho's alone. I surely don't want to ever read here "RIP 'Lost in Austin'? He got shot in the head by some frickin' lunatic that tried to eat the rest of his face". It's not worth it brother!

[mal paso]

Another vote for the police

[max_twang]

Maybe I misunderstood the OP. If there was no damage to the car, why go through the trouble of hunting down the owner of the Caddy? No harm, no foul, right?

[Commodore 64]

If it were me, I'd not waste another second thinking about it (since there's no damage to your car). But then I drove a Hyundai Accent with a crunched hood for 2 years.

[Lost_N_Austin]

I used that explosive terminology in my headline just to capture the attention of TDPRI folks who might relate.

It wasn't just a casual bump of my car either however. The folks at the craft fair where the vehicle was parked were not merely observing the driver but they were yelling at the person to stop and tried to keep them from leaving so they could make an assessment of any possible damage. The driver showed no regard for the damage to their car or mine. They were just bent on leaving the scene without taking responsibility.

The references sent by Getbent may prove to be helpful.

Thanks for your constructive comments.

Lost_N_Austin

[ToneShark]

Yeah, hold on... if there was no damage, what did you expect the person to do? Get out and sit patiently waiting for you to show up, only to inform you that he/she/it hit your car but did not damage it? The police won't even file a report if there's less than $1000 damage, which sounds like the case.

I absolutely agree that the principle of hitting someone's car and then taking off is awful, but that's generally because the consequence is the victim having to pay the deductible to have the car fixed even though that person had nothing to do with the act of damaging it. I've been in that position before (hit and run by a school bus, no less!) and it definitely sucks, but if there was no damage? I guess I don't really know what you were expecting the person in the other car to do. I suppose they could have left a note saying "I hit your car, it looks okay, but if anything comes up, here's my info" -- but you have to admit, that opens a huge can of worms from a liability standpoint. What if 6 months down the road, you smash into a tree while drunk? If they didn't date their note, you can just as easily use it as evidence against them then and have them pay for your accident all those months later. I'm sure you wouldn't do that, but you have to understand why they may have given pause to the idea of stopping and leaving such a note.

And then there's the possibility that the person who told you your car was repeatedly rammed was either A) exaggerating, or B) flat-out lying. How do you know the "good samaritan" wasn't about to beat the front of your car with a bat had you not come out, and then blame THAT on the license plate they had... that may just happen to belong to someone else they've got a bone to pick with? I'm not saying that's probably what happened, but it's certainly something that could have happened.

Just some food for thought. At the end of the day, I'm glad your car wasn't actually damaged, and it's a weird situation, but what can you really expect to do?

[mal paso]

What if the "witness" took down the wrong plate #?

[Arbiter]

If your car had even $1 of damage you call the cops. Car's not damaged? Let it go. People like that don't learn lessons unless they're taught via beatings, and you just don't want to go there.

[Martinp]

I'd want to kick his butt, however, the best thing to do is let it go. If there was damage, I'd sic the insurance company on them, but under the circumstances I'd let it go, nothing useful will result from pursuing this

[Skintight]

Originally Posted by Arbiter

People like that don't learn lessons unless they're taught via beatings

WOW! The guy/girl could have just been a chancer? Or just young and panicked. They are a big massive c*€t for doing-one though I must admit.

[Dep]

In Florida, that's considered a hit and run if there is damage. No damage, no accident.

No damage, no police report.

If you had damage, you should have called right then so a report could be made a while the witnesses were there and could give a description.

Hopefully the damage was minor.

Dep

[telleutelleme]

I think because I was the victim of a hit and run involving injury and expense to myself and my wife I tend to disagree with most about ignoring it. The person who hit the car obviously did not check to see if there was damage nor even respond to people who witnessed it. I would call my insurance agent and provide them with the details; including the venue you were at and the names of the witnesses. Let your agent assist you or as others mentioned the police. I agree with others that you need to stay personally out of it and let the experts advise you.

Even though there was no damage, there could have been and next time it might be an injury.

If you find them see if they were in Houston two years ago.

[DrumBob]

This happened to my daughter's Nissan Sentra. She got hit in a parking lot last year and the jerk drove away. I reported it to the local police, and the cop who took the info just happened to be an ex-drum student of mine. He hung out in the lot for s few days looking for the guy/gal to see if they returned, but he never was able to find out who did it. He even called the local body shops looking for a white car that came in for work.

I'm afraid the chances of finding the perpetrator are pretty slim. I'd just suck it up and have it fixed, and if the damage isn't too bad, don't even call your insurance company.

And send that nice lady who witnessed it some flowers. Too bad she didn't get a license number.

[StratBluesRock]

Originally Posted by Skintight

Could be worse, could have left you a note like this:

Sounds like something I would do .