A friend of mine was driving my 98 Expedition and as we got to our friends house, saw a spot to park in and as he put it in reverse to parallel park we heard a horn then crash he hit a car that was behind us. Now my friend say he did check the mirrors but didn't see that car which I think was too close as when he put it in reverse he started to roll into the space then the crash happened plus it was on the left drivers side corner of my truck (no damage) but was in the middle of there hood which was pushed back sum. Now the police was called by the lady of the other car (98 trecel) who was the passenger and her boyfriend was driving but when the Police came as they spoke to her first she then said SHE was driving but we did tell the Police that but they didn't seem to be bothered about it as we agreed to exchange insurance. Ok fine but my friend isn't insured so I gave them my details you know as its my truck but seeing as she was the passenger then claiming she was driving and was all in tears the officer said that we are at fault as apparently my friend didn't check properly. The guy who was "originally" driving the Toyota had no I.D they didn't speak to him and the Police didn't make a report as we exchanged insurance etc.. Now I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do as I don't know the procedure and as I`m not originally from California but from England don't exactly know your ways of handling this sort of thing? We did mention to the Police the she wasn't driving but the guy was but to be honest they didn't seem to be interested and by the look of there car compared to mine I really think that's why they said it was our fault. Any ideas on how I can sort this out without my insurance going up or should I just let me friend pay it out his own pocket which I'm not sure if he would be too happy about. If you need any more info let me know and I`ll gladly let you know but any help would be great regarding this fishy situation.. Thanks and will look forward in reading your replys..

The thing that bothers me is that you say your friend was backing up when he hit the car behind. Are you saying that the car was not there as he started to park? That it pulled into the spot behind the one he tried to park in? This doesn't make sense, because if the care wasn't there there would have been no reason to parallel park.

So it sounds to me like it was his fault. The damage you describe, rear driver on your vehicle and front middle on the other car, is consistent with backing up at an angle.

Whoever was behind the wheel of the other car was immaterial, unless that person was impaired. You correctly gave your insurance info, since its your vehicle.

What you do know is report it to your insurance company and let them handle it. Hopefully, your policy covers non listed drivers.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

The thing that bothers me is that you say your friend was backing up when he hit the car behind. Are you saying that the car was not there as he started to park? That it pulled into the spot behind the one he tried to park in? This doesn't make sense, because if the care wasn't there there would have been no reason to parallel park.

So it sounds to me like it was his fault. The damage you describe, rear driver on your vehicle and front middle on the other car, is consistent with backing up at an angle.

Whoever was behind the wheel of the other car was immaterial, unless that person was impaired. You correctly gave your insurance info, since its your vehicle.

What you do know is report it to your insurance company and let them handle it. Hopefully, your policy covers non listed drivers.

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The spot he tried to get to was next to a driveway so there was ample room and the car wasn't there but as we wasn't sure what house it was we barely just passed by like half a car length as we stopped next to the one we wsa going to park behind, so he stopped, put it in reverse and positioned himself by turning the steering wheel to park and back up slow but like a split second he hit the other car. He kept telling me that he didn't see the car so again I'm thinking that they were too close or was in a blind spot. I did explain everything to my ins people and hopefully they can do something with it but I was concerned whether they "guy" driving the other vehicle had a license etc. I guees your right and let the ins deal with it but thanks for the reply and any other advice will be appreciated ;)

Where did this car allegedly come from?

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Where did this car allegedly come from?

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Well they said they were travelling behind us but when the crash happened I heard a lday shouting that's my sisters car I guess from the other party across the street.. Hmmm but when my friend mentioned he didn't see the car wouldn't he of at least seen the headlights behind him.. Just seems weird how it happened. They may have been coming out of a parking space from behind us I really don't know but they told the police that they were travelling along the road.

Well absent of any witnesses, its going to be hard to determine, just let the insurers handle it.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Well absent of any witnesses, its going to be hard to determine, just let the insurers handle it.

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I spoke to my friend at work this morning and he will ask his neighbors from across the street, as we know they were outside. Also my friend mentioned to me that the lady in question didn't have a photo I.D just a DMV paper and it was her sisters car on her sisters insurance. Just weird how both of them didn't have I.D of any sort let alone a California I.D just to show that it is them..

Was the lack of ID noted on the police report?

Though I'm not sure how that matters. It might come into play IF there is a court trial as a result of a lawsuit, but not until then.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Was the lack of ID noted on the police report?

Though I'm not sure how that matters. It might come into play IF there is a court trial as a result of a lawsuit, but not until then.

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The thing is the lady called the Police and he gave us 2 options just exchange info or do a police report and because I wasn't sure how the procedure goes he said it was best not to. So there was no police report. The lady was adamant that she wasn't going to do one but now I think why did she call the police in the 1st place? She must have been hiding something if she didn't want to do it. Im going to speak to my adjuster to find out where I stand in the case and will keep you posted.. Thanks for the advice and help Scott

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Originally Posted by REDBULL2727

The thing is the lady called the Police and he gave us 2 options just exchange info or do a police report and because i wasnt sure how the procedure goes he said it was best not to. So there was no police report. The lady was adamant that she wasnt going to do one but now i think why did she call the police in the 1st place?? She must of been hiding something if she didnt want to do it. Im going to speak to my adjuster to find out where i stand in the case and will keep you posted.. Thanx for the advice and help Scott

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You are technically supposed to get a police report any time the damage is over a certain amount (I think it's something like $500), or there is an injury or damage to public property. The difficulty is that the police don't really want to come out for minor fender benders on the one hand, but even a small ding can cost more than $500 to fix on the other. So calling the police is not out of line whenever you have an accident.

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Originally Posted by froggy7

You are technically supposed to get a police report any time the damage is over a certain amount (I think it's something like $500), or there is an injury or damage to public property. The difficulty is that the police don't really want to come out for minor fender benders on the one hand, but even a small ding can cost more than $500 to fix on the other. So calling the police is not out of line whenever you have an accident.

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Yeah I know the Police had to be called but Ive never done this thing before and wasn't sure what to do except exchange insurance info. I didn't really know what a police report was until now of course lol. Well just to let you guys know that I spoke to my Adjuster and regardless of whether the guy was driving, lying or had a license etc its my fault. The people I work with thought that they might of fought it seeing the situation etc but I guess not and I`ll know next time which there won't be trust me and I believe that my adjuster didn't want to do that extra paperwork in finding out the truth in the matter. Thanks guys really for the replys and advice :)

The question is are they paying the damages? The next question is will your rates go up. If they are paying the damages, then it really doesn't matter who was at fault. However, if they raise your rates due to this accident, then you might want to protest on the grounds that it may not have been your fault.

Paying it out of your own pocket may be the most expedient thing to do. Of course, that's if you and your friend are determined to be at fault. However, since the other driver(s) have your insurance information, if they truly believe you to be at fault, they might not agree to a cash settlement and insist on going through their insurance. In that case your best bet would be to file a counter-claim through your insurance. Then let the insurance companies hash out who's at fault, who owes what, etc. Make sure that, when you talk to your insurance company, you push the issue of exactly who was driving the other car and reiterate that you have no license information for the boyfriend.

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Originally Posted by REDBULL2727

The thing is the lady called the Police and he gave us 2 options just exchange info or do a police report and because i wasnt sure how the procedure goes he said it was best not to. So there was no police report. The lady was adamant that she wasnt going to do one but now i think why did she call the police in the 1st place?? She must of been hiding something if she didnt want to do it. Im going to speak to my adjuster to find out where i stand in the case and will keep you posted.. Thanx for the advice and help Scott

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You should have insisted on a police report. Especially since there seems to be irregularities regarding the licensure of the other driver.

I have an update lol.. Well I had a call of the lady who was in the car that we bumped into yesterday and she explained that I have to write a letter for her to give to her insurance company as they are going to put up her sisters insurance premium, why lol when its going through mine and they shouldn't really have a problem with it, also why is she asking me for it and not her insurance? I did tell her that I will put exactly what happened in it and explain that she and her boyfriend swapped places and she understood but then I asked her why they did it and well she said that he had no license.. So then he shudnt of been driving? Do I have something to go on here lol.. get back to me guys I said I will send the letter on Monday so I can fax it from my job.. Thank you. Oh I forgot to say that her insurance said that the car is totaled and a write off..

Hello Red:

Don't involve yourself in ANY lies to ANY insurance company. It's a CRIME and you could and probably WOULD go to jail.

excon

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello Red:

Don't involve yourself in ANY lies to ANY insurance company. It's a CRIME and you could and probably WOULD go to jail.

excon

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Noooo lol I won't do that but she is the passenger of the vehicle we hit.. And the letter she wants me to write is exactly of how I saw the accident to her insurance and I told her I will put in it that they swapped places because they did and I told the police but in my earlier posts the police wasn't bothered whether he or she or mickey mouse was driving.