Witnessed Hit & Run

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iacrenter

iacrenter

Well-known member
I was getting my lunch at the Irvine Marketplace today and was walking back to my car. An SUV with a female driver pulls into a stall near me and proceeds to sideswipe the adjacent Prius. I continued walking to my car and observed from a distance.

She gets out of her vehicle and inspects the damage to the Prius. She immediately gets back into her SUV, backs out, and parks at another stall in the adjacent parking lot. She then leisurely walked into a restaurant for lunch as if nothing had happened.

Before she took off, I managed to write down her license plate number and immediately called 911. About 20 minutes went by and an IPD motor cycle officer shows up. I give him the whole story and he immediately uses his motor bike to block the woman's SUV from leaving the scene.

I don't know how the story ends but I am sure the woman will have a nice surprise from the police when she gets back to her car.


I shouldn't be surprised by the woman's action but it was still very upsetting. You hope most people would do the right thing and leave a note or find the owner. It could easily have been my car that got hit. I hope the Prius owner get some restitution and the errant driver learns a lesson. I am just glad I was there to help provide some small justice for all.
 
I wonder... did the officer take your information too?

The woman might claim she did not do it unless the forensics were too obvious... and usually insurance companies like to contact witnesses (this happened to me when I called in a car accident, the insurance company called me to get my story).
 
Thank you IACrenter!  As someone that has been a victim of a hit and run in a parking lot while I was inside Costco, it gave me a great apprecation for the witness.  Just like you, they wrote down the plate so the Tustin police could track down the guy that took off after doing thousands of dollars in damage to my car.  I actually didn't see the damage when I got into my car because it was on the passenger side (bumper totally detached from the connecting point behind the rear wheel)  and I came from the driver side of the car and went straight to pull away.  Luckily the couple that witnessed it, got my attention as I was pulling out.

Keep up the good work!

I'm guessing the Prius driver won't have to pay a cent, if its just like my case, they will ask the prius driver if  he/she wishes to pursue criminal charges.  I remember the police told me they can't tell me what to do but that if they were in my shoes they would pursue.  I don't think I ever checked on the status of those charges. 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I wonder... did the officer take your information too?

The woman might claim she did not do it unless the forensics were too obvious... and usually insurance companies like to contact witnesses (this happened to me when I called in a car accident, the insurance company called me to get my story).
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I gave the officer my contact information and he checked my ID. He also asked me if could ID the woman. I told him, hopefully it won't come to that.

There was physical evidence as well. She apparently forgot to clean the Prius paint off her front corner bumper.

There was enough evidence that the officer was going to give the woman a chance to come clean before letting her know about the eye witness account and the paint on her car.
 
26inirvine said:
Thank you IACrenter!  As someone that has been a victim of a hit and run in a parking lot while I was inside Costco, it gave me a great apprecation for the witness.  Just like you, they wrote down the plate so the Tustin police could track down the guy that took off after doing thousands of dollars in damage to my car.  I actually didn't see the damage when I got into my car because it was on the passenger side (bumper totally detached from the connecting point behind the rear wheel)  and I came from the driver side of the car and went straight to pull away.  Luckily the couple that witnessed it, got my attention as I was pulling out.

Keep up the good work!

I'm guessing the Prius driver won't have to pay a cent, if its just like my case, they will ask the prius driver if  he/she wishes to pursue criminal charges.  I remember the police told me they can't tell me what to do but that if they were in my shoes they would pursue.  I don't think I ever checked on the status of those charges.  Also, in part of the report
Click to expand...

That was my thinking when I called the cops. How would you feel if your car was left damaged in a parking lot and no one left a note? That would totally suck. So I figured, why not spare a few more minutes of my time and help that Prius owner out.
 
Hope this is the same person who dented my car in the trader joes parking lot a few weeks ago.  But no good Samaritan for me...
 
ps99472 said:
irvinehomeowner said:
ps99472 said:
And most important, was Darth Vader behind the wheel?
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Hehe.

I wonder how many people will get this?
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If you live in Irvine you should get it...
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+1 pretty funny.

asian_lady_visor3.jpg


Here is the link and picture for those out of the loop:
http://themomblog.ocregister.com/2010/08/24/nearly-side-swiped-by-darth-vader/64173/
 
for those that witness this and see the person write a note, please write down the plates anyways.  I have had both family members and friends that have been hit and they got a note that led to a fake number.
 
26inirvine said:
for those that witness this and see the person write a note, please write down the plates anyways.  I have had both family members and friends that have been hit and they got a note that led to a fake number.
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Oh yes you are so right. The officer also told me that his own car was hit and someone left a note. All it said was "sorry I am writing this note since there are people watching me."

People like to write fake info on their notes to throw off witnesses. So sad.
 
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