Hit and Run legal help.

[BuckWrestler141]

I was just curious if anyone else has expereince one of these before. My car was struck by a senior in highschool while parked (he is probably 18?) and inside a building. I had no idea it happened, but 2 witnesses (highschoolers who said the kid is a prick, called the police so they talked with me, they busted the kid who did it.

I've missed the call by police, i havn't handed in my form yet, because the officer couldn't legally write the other person in, without talking with him. So that happens apparntly, as the kid calls my cell phone, and his mother talks to me also, both saying they are sorry and they would like to pay it not with insurence.

What are my options? Also, are they being nice because they don't want it to go through insurence; or because i have some ability to not press hit and run charges?

P.S. It's just a big dent in my back bumper, so i'm ASSUMING i'll just get a new back bumper and be done with it.

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

If he wants to make restitution for the damage he caused to your car, take it, no matter his motivation. There are two kinds of motivation for pursuing civil (non criminal) actions under the law, those done out of principal and those done out of principle. The only type you should ever pursue is the one that accrues interest. He is trying to pay you the amount without you having to fight for it--take it. Let other people punish him for being an asshole.

What his family is concerned about are his insurance premium payments skyrocketing. If the damage is relatively minor, it is smart of them not to make a claim with their insurance company (considering no one was in your car). If you or anyone else would have been in your car when the accident occurred, however, it would be wise to submit the claim to the insurance as there is always the threat of personal injury.

 

[MightbeaBuck]

What are my options? Also, are they being nice because they don't want it to go through insurence; or because i have some ability to not press hit and run charges?

P.S. It's just a big dent in my back bumper, so i'm ASSUMING i'll just get a new back bumper and be done with it.

I don't think they are being nice, they just want to keep their insurance rates down. They don't want points on his license. They don't want to have his name published.

You don't have a choice about pressing hit and run charges. You tell your version to the police. The witnesses tell their version to the police. The kid tells his version to the police. After all that, the police decide if charges will be preferred.

As far as not going through the whole rigmarole:
Several years ago, someone rear-ended me while I was waiting on a red light. I looked at my bumper and saw only scratches. His car had worse damage than mine. He offered to just give me $100 to drop it, just forget it and drive off. I said $200. He said O.K. To make a short story long: About a month later one side of my bumper went askew. It cost about $600 to get it fixed.

Moral - c.y.o. - you can't see internal / structural damage.

 

[Deety]

Insurance rates can go up even if no claim is made. They could lie to the insurance company (which will probably cancel the kid for hit and run if they can do so legally) but the police report will still happen and in all likelihood the insurance company will see it eventually... policies with kids are reviewed more often.

Go through the insurance company. It will be less of a hassle for you and probably no difference for them in the long run. Nice that mommy's willing to cover his mistakes and defraud the insurance company on his behalf, though... that's a great way to raise a responsible kid who wouldn't do things like hit a car and drive off. So far so good... right?