Hey ladies! Long story short, some crazy lady hit my body with her car about a month ago. I got the plate number and reported it to the police. Because I was in such a state of shock, I didn't think to get any witnesses names or numbers, I just wanted to get my daughter the hell out of there (she had been in the car at the time, thank GOD)... I just received an official letter from the City of Richmonds Special Operations Hit and Run Team, telling me that they caught this woman and while there is no way to proscecute her criminally at this time (I didn't think I could pick her out of a line up, and I'd hate so much to falsely accuse someone!) I have the option of proceeding with civil action... do you think this is a solid enough case to proceed with legal action? I've NEVER been in this kind of situation before... I want justice to be brought down on this woman, and hard. The Detective I've been speaking with said that if I win in civil court, that that will hold more weight in criminal court if I decide to proceed. I want it to be known to this psycho that YOU CAN'T GO AROUND HITTING PEOPLE WITH YOUR CAR, YOU CAN'T GET AWAY WITH IT, THIS IS NOT OKAY, THIS IS NOT HOW TO BEHAVE!! Scared me to death, the whole experience. What do you think??
*EDIT* Since you ladies had a lot of questions, I'll give the long version of the story ;) It was the beginning of a snow day, so of course EVERYONE was at Food Lion (and no, they do not have cameras in their lot)... I had put my daughter and the groceries in the car, went to return the shopping cart, and heard honking. I looked up thinking someone was waiting for a spot or something, and made eye contact with this woman who was waiting for me to return the cart. I guess I hesitated because I could'nt believe she was honking at me, and she screamed some obsenities and hit the gas, intentionally hitting me. I rolled off the hood and she almost ran over my foot, then almost hit an elderly couple having trouble with their shopping cart in the snow. I was completely dumbfounded!! There were sooo many people who saw it happen and I'm kicking myself for not thinking clearly enough for getting witness information.
Yes. Yes. Yes!
Scary stuff! I agree, what if it would have been a child? This person needs to be held accountable, absolutely!
I also agree with posting flyers, asking for witnesses...might just work!
Good Luck!
Just a few thoughts as to finding witnesses...
Put an ad on craigs list
Put an ad in your local paper
I see stuff like that all the time on CL and papers...couldn't hurt.
Sounds like a lunatic maniac and she should not be able to get away with that!
Definitely go after her. What would have happened to your daughter if you had been holding her or if you had been seriously hurt? If you had been knocked out, would anyone have even thought to check your car for a child? It is HIT and RUN. And if she was willing to run you over and possibly an elderly couple, who is next?
Maybe you can put a flyer up at the Food Lion and see if anyone comes forward as a witness.
Where did this happen? At a food store? (you mentioned the cart) If this is the case, there may be regulars who shop there who saw the accident. Is there a place you could put up signs looking for a witness to come forward?
Maybe the store has outside cameras that captured it? It doesn't hurt to ask. Hopefully you didn't have any serious injuries from it. Did she realize she hit you? Did you have a disagreeance and she came after you with her car? I understand wanting to prevent her from getting away with it again. You could try the line up and go from there. It's great you got the license plate, that will help alot if you pursue it. You never know who could be driving the car, the owner or someone else. If you are pretty sure about one of the people in the line up and they are the owner of the car then you can comfortably proceed.
It's awful you had to go through this. Let us know what happens. Good luck.
With your updated information I would absolutely follow through and talk with the store about posting something for witnesses. She needs to stopped. I don't care how impatient you are, you don't intentionally hit anyone. She's lucky you didn't get hurt badly. I would do the line up to. If you made eye contact with her, I would bet that you will recognize her again, even if you can't fully describe her now. Good luck.
First off how horrifying that happened to you. It's wonderful to hear your daughter was safe from her and that you weren't seriously injured. What a scary encounter.
Second...I'm so happy they caught her but also disturbed they can't do anything to her legally. She should be held accountable!
I would do civil court or whatever I could to make sure she learns that she can't do that. I would do it even if I lost money...it'd be worth it for her to get slapped with a fine or something or at least scare her into never doing that again.
Good luck. Please let us know what happens!
I would call a lawyer, one of those "Have you been injured?" ones for a consultation. They could give you some good advice on what is involved and whether or not you have a solid case.
As far as witnesses, ask if you can post a flyer at Food Lion, there may be a chance that a person who witnessed the incident will see it and come forward. You may also want to put an ad in your local paper or write a letter to the editor.
OMG! I can't believe this happeded to you. Can you say road rage?! This maniac was attempting to cause you bodily harm. Yes go after her. Next time she does that, the person she hits may not be so lucky and actually be seriously injured or worse! Hopefully she will be ordered to take anger management classes and have her license suspended.
Good luck to you!!!!
Absolutely press a civil case. I can understand not doing a criminal case (since you got the license, but not the driver)... but if she LOANED her car to someone else, she has the opportunity to put THAT person in the hotseat.
Something to note:
People who witness things like this are usually appalled and more than willing to testify. Especially since it sounds like you were at the grocery store... ask the manager if you can put up a notice/signs looking for witnesses from that day... since they probably shop there fairly frequently.
R
