The 80 SD was hit today...in an odd situation - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

79300sdtd · #1 11-22-2007, 08:25 PM

i was driving down a country road to come home, i was following this guy for like a quarter mile. he stops all the sudden, then i stop about 2 to 4 feet behind him. the next thing i know his reverse lights were on and before i could hit the horn or get the car in reverse he had aldready hit me. he was backing up to turn on to a road that we had just passed.

Of course, the situation looked like i hit him and that is what he told the police officer after agreeing with me that he backed into me. he said that he was slowly moving forward and i hit him from behind.

he was in his late 50's early 60's '07 full sized truck with a cab. iam 24 who do you think the police is going to side with. So i then call my brother back who is a state troper also and he says there is nothing i can do.

So now i am in an uphill battle. i already called my insurance company and told them what happened and that the other guy lied to the officer. so now it is a battle.

*edit*
as far as i can tell with out opening the hood i need: 3 lights, possibly a bumper, a a/c condenser, a oil cooler, a rad, a fan shroud, a fan, a hood, a grlle, an a/c fan. i hope they don't total it cause of costs.

I have pics tomorrow to up load.

TheDon · #2 11-22-2007, 08:33 PM

there has to be a way to prove that he caused it..

tarbe · #3 11-22-2007, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

there has to be a way to prove that he caused it..

Yes, it's called a witness.

Bummer...I feel for you.

Nate · #4 11-22-2007, 08:51 PM

Where were you infrount of? If it was infrount of his house, it'd be rather obvious he missed his turn and did what you said.

Good luck dealing with the scum bag
~Nate

bustedbenz · #5 11-22-2007, 08:54 PM

That's not the kind of trick you'd expect a 60 year old man to play... which further complicates things on your end.

Could an almost-forensic analysis of the damage to the car show in any fashion that the abrasions to the car were received with motion that was traveling backwards over your car, instead of your car traveling forwards over his truck material?

You need a lawyer if this gets expensive.

dynamitejacket · #6 11-22-2007, 09:01 PM

just a thought, if you were sitting still and he hit you, there should be some small skid marks from your tires going backward-
if you had hit him, they would be under HIS wheels...

never mind that there are no skid marks from when you supposedly hauled ass up to him and laid on the brakes trying to avoid hitting him

Wodnek · #7 11-22-2007, 09:03 PM

That an awful lot of damage for a low speed collision. i thought the big US bumpers were supposed to prevent that!

79300sdtd · #8 11-22-2007, 09:27 PM

as far as the ammount of damage goes, a Full sized truck bumper with the hitch will clear the bumper, leaving small scratches on the top.... i know this because of the first post

.

i think because of the plastic grille it might be able to be proved two ways. one if i was speeding towards him and hit the breaks my car would be nose diving and the damage would be higher up... the damage is right in line with his bumper height. and the second thing is that you can clearly see where his recieving hitch hit. it looks like a straght in and out hit no suspension movement.

i just have to try and plead my case with the adjuster if i can. my bro is going to try and call the officer that was there to see if there is anything that can be done.

since i did not open the hood alot of the rad type things might have just shifted and are not actually busted, don't know till it is opened.

1st accident this is going to be an adventure.

*edit*
Does anyone on here know if the new computers show when gears were switched? I.e. will it put a time stamp on the instant he puts it into reverse or drive if so i might bealbe to get the insurance co to pull his computer and read it. i know it shows speed travelling forwards and stops but i don't know how long the info is retained.

PanzerSD · #9 12-01-2007, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bustedbenz

That's not the kind of trick you'd expect a 60 year old man to play... which further complicates things on your end.

Could an almost-forensic analysis of the damage to the car show in any fashion that the abrasions to the car were received with motion that was traveling backwards over your car, instead of your car traveling forwards over his truck material?

You need a lawyer if this gets expensive.

If you had a camera at the time, you could have taken photos of the marks left by your tires as your car shifted backward from his impact....

Hindsight is 20/20...

pizzachef · #10 11-22-2007, 09:34 PM

Take pictures asap! Take pictures of the roadway surface, the area of the collision from all angles...too bad you couldn't do that with the cars still in place. Find the douchbag's address, if he lives down that road he passed up (not likely, orhe probably wouldn't have missed it) or try to find if there's any other reason he had to turn down that road. But if the collision took place after that turn, I think you have a case. Looks like you're going to have to do some work on this one though...that's rotten. Good luck with it...did the cop write you a ticket?
Don't worry, no matter how this turns out, karma will ensure that a tree falls on this guy's dog or something.
-geoff

79300sdtd · #11 11-22-2007, 09:39 PM

i took pics with my car in place with my phone.

i asked the officer if he asked where he was going and the officer told me it was irrelevant cause he believes his story....this is as the guy is pulling away.

there were no tickets issued... which is good for my case cause it shows doubt in the officers mind on what the guy said

i have all the guy's info. i called it in. one would think if i hit him i would not want to call it in.

it is just a screwy situation that is one in a thousand and i have to prove this is that one.

eagle-co94 · #12 11-22-2007, 09:49 PM

Did his backup lights get broken in the accident? Don't quote me on this, but I saw somewhere that you could prove whether or not someone's lights were lit during an accident based on the way the bulb was broken. Probably way to late to prove anything now, but worth a shot.

JimmyL · #13 11-22-2007, 10:05 PM

Sorry to hear about this Trevor. You might take the financial hit, but you have your self respect, and ours also. Sometimes that is all to be gained.

We will follow your progress, and await your pics.

nhdoc · #14 11-22-2007, 10:09 PM

He may be trying to pull an insurance scam...he'll next claim he can't move his neck and get a lawyer to sue your insurance company if that's the case. They'll settle for something in the low 5 figures because that is the "break even point" on litigation. I've heard of these cases in Florida...in fact it is the attorneys who find these guys and tell them just how to do it so it looks like it was your fault! They have doctors who claim you caused whiplash and there's your case.

79300sdtd · #15 11-22-2007, 10:12 PM

eagle- nothing at all happened to his truck. i don't even think the paint was scratched off of his reciever.

Jimmy- i know i might take a hit, but i am going to fight not to. if they total it i will buy it back. the autobody shop it is at is a long time friend of the family. i think i can have him repaint what needs to be done fairly inexpensively get the other parts i need and to it my self. between the nre tranny and the replaced engine it is worth buyng back imho.

NHdoc- i hope this is not what he is trying to pull