Drunk Driver accident, please advise

[Michal]

Feel free do DM me

My daughter was waived through an intersection by another driver while she was making a left turn. When she was in the middle of the intersection, the other driver accelerated right into the side of her car. They claimed she pulled in front of them and caused the accident and that they were injured. While waiting for the cops, she recorded them walking into a restaurant near the accident laughing and acting up. Once the cops got there, they had already returned to their car and my daughter had no luck with the LEO. He said due to the circumstances he had to issue my daughter the citation because she was the one who pulled in front of the other driver. Another driver pulled up who saw the accident and told the cop that they hit her intentionally. The cop said that the insurance companies can fight it out, it is not his job to render fault only to issue a citation for the cause of the accident.

My daughter provided the witness info to our insurance as well as her video. We paid the deductible and they repaired my daughter's car quickly. Our insurance pursued the other driver and other drivers insurance based on the evidence my daughter had and the witness testimony. They were successful and reimbursed us for our deductible and recovered the damages from the other drivers insurance.

That really sucks...its people like that that made me a strong proponent of dashcams in ANY car. I am glad things worked out

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[Michael Kelly]

Side note to this thread but related, how do I install the road cameras going active & recording?

 

[Michal]

Side note to this thread but related, how do I install the road cameras going active & recording?

You need to plug in an external drive in the center console, then enable it in the GearGuard menu. I have been using this one...worth every penny
https://amzn.to/46T81jA

 

[JRock]

Hello everyone, so it happened. I am not going to turn this into a "is it totaled thread", however I would really appreciate some advice as this is my first major accident like this.

As Im returning home last night, It felt like I got rear ended, just to see a car fly by on on the shoulder to my left.

As we come to a stop the driver revs the engine trying to take off just to realize his car is disabled. When that happens, both driver and passenger open their doors and start throwing cans out the window.

I try to capture everything with my phone. The driver stumbles out clearly under the influence, and says he cant stay and has to go.

I call 911 immediately and report that I have a drunk driver trying to leave the scene. I get the "we will be there ASAP."

NYPD took 3 hours to show up at the scene, the guy casually called an uber and left the scene. However, I was able to get his license and insurance info before.

Since the point of impact was the side not rear, I am afraid his insurance will attempt to split the responsibility, and without a police report and recorded DUI they might succeed.

As for the damage, my rear quarter seems intact, Gear tunnel both doors and a bit of front fender. It appears that my rock slider too a brunt of the impact (Thank You @electruck4x4 ). Will it be totaled, I don't know.

if you have any recommendations for good NYC or Long Island based Rivian certified shops, I would really appreciate it.

I took a video of the footage with my cell just in case. Before I ejected the drive, I added the footage to favorites, and clicked on download footage. It stated downloaded to USB-C but I can not find it in DriveCam>Saved Clips or in IncicentCam folder. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you everyone!!!

Leaving the scene of an accident is pretty damning. Johnny Law doesn’t like that very much. That’ll benefit your claim. If I’m you, my neck is starting to tighten up with pain, right now.

 

[runwithscissors]

Leaving the scene of an accident is pretty damning. Johnny Law doesn’t like that very much. That’ll benefit your claim. If I’m you, my neck is starting to tighten up with pain, right now.

Doesn't matter in NY where charges are always downgraded or dismissed altogether. Criminals have little to no fear of being arrested or charged. It's not a police thing, it's a justice system thing and they side with criminals all damn day.

 

[CharonPDX]

My daughter was waived through an intersection by another driver while she was making a left turn. When she was in the middle of the intersection, the other driver accelerated right into the side of her car. They claimed she pulled in front of them and caused the accident and that they were injured. While waiting for the cops, she recorded them walking into a restaurant near the accident laughing and acting up. Once the cops got there, they had already returned to their car and my daughter had no luck with the LEO. He said due to the circumstances he had to issue my daughter the citation because she was the one who pulled in front of the other driver. Another driver pulled up who saw the accident and told the cop that they hit her intentionally. The cop said that the insurance companies can fight it out, it is not his job to render fault only to issue a citation for the cause of the accident.

My daughter provided the witness info to our insurance as well as her video. We paid the deductible and they repaired my daughter's car quickly. Our insurance pursued the other driver and other drivers insurance based on the evidence my daughter had and the witness testimony. They were successful and reimbursed us for our deductible and recovered the damages from the other drivers insurance.

Depending on where this was, there may be no "state determined fault" at all, so police literally don't care/have any input into "fault" other than issuing a ticket per the "situation on the ground."

That said, because insurance found her not at fault, if the court date hasn't happened yet, I'm sure she could fight the ticket based on the witness testimony. (I'm imagining if insurance has already recovered damages that the court date is long past, though.)

 

[pc500]

It’s honestly better for you that the cops didn’t arrive in time and charge with a DUI. If the other driver actually has active insurance, the insurance company will likely deny coverage because he was under the influence. In simple terms, insurance companies generally have clauses that say the policy will not pay if the driver is intoxicated. Same with intentional acts, like deliberately hitting someone. As frustrating as it is, it’s better for you to not argue that the person was intoxicated.

I'll never say never, but this is almost never allowed as a matter of public policy. Even gross negligence is covered.

 

[Hillbilly]

It’s honestly better for you that the cops didn’t arrive in time and charge with a DUI. If the other driver actually has active insurance, the insurance company will likely deny coverage because he was under the influence. In simple terms, insurance companies generally have clauses that say the policy will not pay if the driver is intoxicated. Same with intentional acts, like deliberately hitting someone. As frustrating as it is, it’s better for you to not argue that the person was intoxicated.

I've never seen this except as to punitive damages.

 

[GMGCPA]

Michal, if you need a great Rivian repair place in Roslyn, Long Island, NY call Flower Hill Auto Body 516-627-3913 tell them Mr. Sica referred you and you'll be back in business 100%...good luck, Gary

 

[Michal]

Thank you

Michal, if you need a great Rivian repair place in Roslyn, Long Island, NY call Flower Hill Auto Body 516-627-3913 tell them Mr. Sica referred you and you'll be back in business 100%...good luck, Gary

Thank you Gary, Flower Hill and Gotham have a close relationship wirh the BK SC. I went to Gotham yesterday and had a positive first impression....Will provide updates

 

[derekk4]

Found your thread while looking for some DriveCam help and those photos of the cans on the road caught my eye. It reminded me of a mess I went through in Colorado when I got pulled over in Breckenridge after dinner. The officer claimed I failed the roadside balance test even though I was fine, and I was suddenly facing a criminal record.

I contacted DUI attorney J.B. Katz because she knows the mountain court procedures inside out. She managed to prove the breathalyzer wasn't calibrated right and got the evidence tossed, which kept me from losing my license.

 

[ENVErider]

Feel free do DM me

That really sucks...its people like that that made me a strong proponent of dashcams in ANY car. I am glad things worked out

I'm sorry to see that someone damaged your beautiful truck. I see you have already received a lot of advice, mostly good, but some clearly wrong. If I were in your shoes, my first conversation would be with my insurer, and I would let them do the footwork. Your video seems pretty clear. You were driving in a straight line, and someone hit you; the alcohol should not impact your coverage, but it could impact that driver's coverage for repair of their own vehicle. I'd only escalate to lawyers or take other steps if my own insurer were unfairly trying to avoid honoring my coverage agreement. I don't know how much or what types of coverage you purchased.
I think this forum is a great place to get suggestions for shops with Rivian repair experience and I hope this post results in some leads that get you back on the road soon and you can forget this ever happened.

 

[mcdaniken]

Found your thread while looking for some DriveCam help and those photos of the cans on the road caught my eye. It reminded me of a mess I went through in Colorado when I got pulled over in Breckenridge after dinner. The officer claimed I failed the roadside balance test even though I was fine, and I was suddenly facing a criminal record.

I contacted DUI attorney J.B. Katz because she knows the mountain court procedures inside out. She managed to prove the breathalyzer wasn't calibrated right and got the evidence tossed, which kept me from losing my license.

So, let me see if i got this right. You had drinks with dinner, got pulled over, failed a breathalyzer and failed a balance test? Sounds like a DUI to me.

 

[NY_Rob]

So, let me see if i got this right. You had drinks with dinner, got pulled over, failed a breathalyzer and failed a balance test? Sounds like a DUI to me.

Now all we need is "resisting" and "Sovereign Citizen" and it would qualify for a Sergeant Curtis video

 

[derekk4]

Thank you for our response VSG, It is very insightful. I run in front of the car and took a picture of the driver behind the wheel. My DriveCam also shows them throwing out the cans out the front and back. The Fire Department responded, and they noted smelling alcochol on the driver's breath but said they are not in the business of enforcing. (I should have taken a video statement at the time)
So you are right, they will probably get away with the DUI. At this point I just want to recover my damages and not have my insurance skyrocket...and hopefully get back into an R1T
I am glad I have GAP, I still owe 68K on the car at 8% apr....

Even though you're in NYC and this happened a while ago, this might help anyone else dealing with insurance adjusters trying to dodge a payout. I live out in Colorado, and when a drunk driver hit my neighbor here, the local cops similarly dropped the ball on the breathalyzer.

What saved him with the insurance company was aggressively pushing the dashcam footage and the fire department's notes about the alcohol smell straight to the adjuster. When his insurance tried to stall and talk about premium hikes, he used an evidentiary checklist shared by a local DUI attorney. Even if you're dealing with NY insurance rules, the baseline strategies for forcing an adjuster's hand using hard scene evidence are pretty much universal.

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