Me Me Monday #58-59

58. I was rear-ended by a drunk dude the week before Christmas and he tried to flee the scene by driving off
59. I chased his ass down in my car and got all the info for the cops

Since these two were related, I put them both in here.

Some months before, my then girlfriend and I had broken off our engagement for various reasons. I still spoke to her (and still do from time to time) and was, in fact, in the process of purchasing her Honda Del Sol from her. She needed the money and didn't need to spend the cash on insurance. I needed a reliable ride to replace the Soccer Mom Volvo I had acquired the year previous... It was cute and had a cd player (which the Volve did not) and, hey, while it might only be HALF a convertible, half a convertible is better than none. Plus, with the recent price-jacking of gas, I sure do like the 33/40 mpg the car gets. In defense of the Volvo, let me just say that HEATED SEATS ROCK. That alone is worth at least 2 inches of "stroke" with the ladies, trust me on this one.

Now then, where was I? Oh yes, the accident. It was a dreary chilly night in December as I slowed to a stop at the light on Forest Hill at Belt Boulevard. I was behind a young lady in some new-ish foreign car in the right lane and there were a couple cars in the left lane. The light was red. Still red. In my rear view mirror I saw headlights approaching. Ever since the incident the year prior when I had been rear-ended in my Camaro on an otherwise empty 4-lane street, I had taken to doing so, just in case...

Well, dammit, it was happening again.

I saw the car approaching. It was coming too fast. It wasn't slowing. I had nowhere I could go, with a car in front of me, curb to the right of me, and another 2 cars to the left of me.

CRAP.

I leaned back in my seat and put my head back into the headrest to brace myself for impact which I knew to be coming. The screeching and squaling of locked up brakes then began... this had taken all of but a few seconds...

WHAM!!!

The jarring impact slid me up the back of the seat where my head hit the top crossbar in the Del Sol - this was the cross bar supporting member that the removable roof attached to in the rear of the cabin.

Ouch.

Recovering from the initial collision, and annoyed - I mean, I know the brake lights on the car worked and there were 4 of us at the stop light all stopped. How do you miss that?? Well, I unhooked my seatbelt and made to get out of the car to survey the damage when I heard the unmistakable sound of a car backing up... I looked in my rear view and he was, indeed, backing up. I thought perhaps he was just going to do so in order to have space between the vehicles.... yet he continued to drive back...

"What the f*ck?" I said out loud to myself. "What the hell is he doing...?"

And he then turned his vehicle a bit and pulled forward... looked like he was going to stop and then he continued into the far left lane, which was a turning lane.

"Oh, hell no you DON'T!" I shouted and closed my door and slammed the gear shift into reverse. I revved the car and popped the clutch and my little Del Sol spun wheels as I backed up. There was no way in hell I was going to let him hit and run me. Hell no!

Bang into first and I pull up behind him in the turn lane. He barely checked traffic both ways before running the red light turning left. I was right on his ass, trying to decipher his license plate, avoid traffic, and get through the intersection safely. The adrenalin was flowing through my veins, my heart was thumping in my chest, and my anger had seethed beyond my vision. Hell no, he wasn't going to ESCAPE ME!

From the divided road known as Westover HIlls Boulevard, he took the very next left - a one way street... only going THE WRONG WAY. This really didn't register with me as I chased him down this narrow roadway until I noticed that ALL the parked cars here were FACING ME. I was flying up this road 30.. 40... 50mph up the wrong way of this tiny little neighborhood street, steering with one hand, and trying to put my seat belt on, shift gears, and dial 911 on my cell phone all at the same time.

A random thought drifted past me at this point - This was one reason to be a cop in a car chase - the adrenalin rush is UNREAL.

He took a left turn without stopping at the intersection and pulled up at a light on Forest Hill Avenue, just back a ways from where he had rammed me and tried to escape.

He then actually stopped at the intersection and turned on his right turn signal before proceeding to make a legal right on red turn. Can you believe that? After hitting and running, running a red light and speeding the wrong way up a one way street... he stops, turns on his signal, and looks both ways before getting back on the road where he hit me, still heading away from the scene.

Meanwhile, 911 emergency finally picks up as I turn to follow the jackass who was trying to escape me. He was driving this POS ratty blue and rust Chevy Cavalier so there was no way he was going to lose me. I was right on his tail as the 911 operator spoke, "911 - please state the nature of your emergency"

Now, I will admit to having made fun of various 911 calls I've overheard or seen on the TV, where the people involved just babble on incoherently. I can understand that now. With the adrenalin coursing like a raging river through my body, my words flew out in a mere nanosecond - "I'monforesthillavenueandthisguyrearendedmeandisnowtryingtofleethesceneinanearly90'sbluecavaliergoingwestboundonforesthillapproachingpowhiteparkway"
breathe
"andIamrightonhisasshislicenseplatenumberisxxx-xxxandheisofmediumbuildbrownhaireyesmoustachegoatee..."

Yeah, it all came out in one rapid fire blurt.

The operator, of course, was experienced with this and had to repeatedly try to catch my attention..

"Sir" ... "Sir" ... "you're going to have to slow down" ... "sir"

"Now, could you start over slowly, please?"

You know what? They need to hire speed listeners to be 911 operators. But in any case, I gave her the information once again, in much more abbreviated spurts, and while the process actually took maybe 30 seconds, it felt like it took hours to complete...

And when in response to "where is he now?" I said, "Right in front of me, heading west down Forest Hill Avenue just past Powhite Parkway interchange" she said, "Sir, you are going to have to stop following him so we can get a police report."

"WHAT?!! But I'm right behind him and I don't want him to get away!"

"Sir. It is not legal for you to be doing this. You MUST stop."

"Dammit. Okay, I'll stop at the 7-11 right up the street near the Pony Pasture"

"Sir, we will be sending a unit your way shortly. Do you need an ambulance?"

Well, at the time, my body was so doped up on adrenalin that I felt no pain, only a need to cause some, so I said, "No, I'm okay." And to the 7-11 I went, and stopped and waited for the cops.

Some 15 minutes went by before the cops arrived, and by then, the rush had passed and my neck started hurting and I got a massive headache. Turns out that I strained my neck from having slid up into the roof and spent about 6 weeks in and out of physical therapy to stop the continual headaches and neck pain I felt.

As for the guy? Well, while I was reporting to the cop at the Sev, he received radio word that they had found the car but having crossed into the county, the city cop was waiting for county mounties to take custody of the situation. Turns out he had driven homewards, and turning onto his home street, he wrecked the car in a steep ditch on his own freaking street, then ran and hid in the house. So, yeah, drinking was apparently involved.

Now, the aftermath. The car was still technically owned by my ex at the time and it was under her insurance. I hadn't paid in full for the car at yet. Her Dad? A lawyer. Did I sue? Hell yes. Now, normally, I'm not litigious by nature and I really hate the whole lottery view of law that so many people have taken - so many people suing for things that were caused by their own stupidity and getting away with it. It just doesn't seem right. Just the year or so prior, I had been rearended in my otherwise undamaged Camaro and my rear end was mangled up, but I didn't sue them. Their insurance paid me to cover costs of repairs and I let it go at that, though I could have done otherwise - he totalled my car so it was a pretty good impact... but the pain was minor and those young kids stayed while I called the insurance company right then and there. But this guy? This punk fled the scene. He tried to get away with it. AND my neck REALLY hurt. The headaches were constant and gave me difficulty at work until the therapy started working to my benefit. So, yeah, I sued him and have no guilt about it whatsoever. I didn't go for "extra" but I got my expenses paid for and time lost from work, etc - it was very fair. THAT is really how I think suing people should be - fair. Oh well, but that's another topic entirely.

Oh, total side note, those massages were great... and everyone (except ONE guy) at that therapy place was really and attractive woman - kinda reminded me of that Seinfeld episode when they were talking about all the women who worked at the Diner. No, seriously. Not a bad looker in the joint. So I guess sometimes there is good from bad, right? Yeah, I'm such a male pig sometimes. I'll admit it - I enjoy looking at a woman. So sue me. Any hetero male who says otherwise is lying. But I digress

Anyway, so that's how it all, more or less, went down...
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