i was going to suggest that too. definitely call a bunch of repair shops and talk to whoever the right person would be. tell them that you were the victim of a hit and run situation and if they have a Lexus *model name here* of whatever color it was, have them call the police and turn that bastard in. i can't imagine a whole lot of of "x" year Lexus of "x" color and "x" model would be coming in for front end damage, most likely having chips of the same color of your paint on his bumper and whatnot. if you find the guy, i can't imagine it would be too hard to prove. what pisses me off even MORE is that most likely the dude was drunk. stupid drunk drivers. . . . . .i have no mercy for drunk drivers whatsoever. let them rot in a jail-cell the rest of their lives for all i'm concerned.

 

Don't know if you've already done this or not but you should call the police and have all this documented. While they're there have them get a CSI unit out there so that if you do find the guy they can match up the paint transfers. Proving up the crminal mischief will helpprove up the hit and run. If the damages are high enough it could be considered a felony criminal mischief. Don't know if the hit & run will be in your state, but 2 felony convictions are nothing to sneeze at.

 

Oh man, I bet you are unbelievably pissed off, and you have every right to be! I understand how it feels and I hope the runner can be saved. Good luck.

 

Sorry to hear about the damage to your 4Runner. That is a really crappy feeling when something like that happens.

 

2AM?

I wouldn't be surprised if that was a DUI. Good luck finding the guy responsible!

 

Bummer bout the wreck and all, but It looks like a good oppertunity to build a nice trail rig. You know cut off the whole rear end, straighten the frame, spool the wheels and go with some 38's. But that is just the Dr. Frankenstien in me

 

OUCH! Looks like they drove right up under your bumper and struck the tire. I bet the damage on their vehicle (assuming car) is pretty high up and visible.
Hopefully they just bent the springs when the tire was struck.
Don't let an adjuster BS you when it comes time to get it fixed. Check how the doors close to see if the frame has been twisted lengthwise and have ALL the mechanicals gone through. That looks like hard enough of a hit to do possible damage to an automatic (rear end strikes can cause pilot shaft damage (or so I was told in the past)), damage the rim, springs, shackles, shackle bushings, body mounts...all sorts of major or minor things could occur. All that energy has to go somewhere.
I hope they find that SOB!

 

Update....
Well Saturday i spent the day talking to my insurance, Island security and neighbors. I was wiped out at the end of the day.
Several neighbors heard the crunch and one neighbor even saw the vehicle speed away.
So another neighbor came out and told us of a guy down the road that owns a black Lexus. So of course we drove by his place but nothing.
Well last night before we went to bed my wife and i were real tired and we did some praying hoping that the insurance issue would work out and everything would be fixed.
This morning as i was getting ready for church i just stepped out of the shower when my mother-in-law knocked on the door and told me to hurry and get dressed that someone wanted to talk to me.
I get dressed and go out in the family room and there is a real young couple standing there and the girl is crying real hard.
Come to find out that she was driving her boyfriends 2000 Lexus and came around the corner and her purse fell off her lap. She tried to grab it and swerved and hit my rig. She said it scared her so bad that she took off.

To make things worse for the boyfriend, the car actually belonged to his father.
His father owns a auto dealership and is kinda a big wig around here. Sure enough the father is out of town and the couple is going to try and fix the Lexus before he gets home from a business trip. They said the Lexus is in REAL bad shape.

So i moved my 4runner off my father-in-laws truck. She started fine and backed up ok. I did heard a pretty loud thunk when i put it into reverse. So i will make sure to have my tranny looked at closely. If she pushed my 4runner 15 feet while it was in park it might have done a bit of damage.

So the gal was real apologetic and couldn't stop crying. I felt real bad for her. Afterall, nobody got hurt and its just sheet metal.
Tomorrow i'll have the 4runner towed to the collision center and see how much damage did occur.
I think i will tell the collision center " hey, my rig didn't drip oil before the accident"
Actually it did

And to make for an even more interesting weekend my wifes uncle died Friday. So now i need to head down to Cali for the funeral.
Also the bank is on me to finish with the construction on my house. Talk about having a bit of stress. Glad i can use a bit of cyberspace to spill my guts.
Thanks for all the replys everyone. Feels good to talk to someone, er i mean type to someone
Hopefully i will know more tomorrow.

 

Todd, sorry for your loss. Like you said, the wreck is just sheet metal. It will all work out bud. What are you doing to your home?

 

Todd,

Just saw this post. Just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry about your misfortune. I hope some sort of justice can be found in this mess.

Cody

Edit: Good news about them coming forward. Very sorry to hear about the family death.

 

Quite the spot to be in, but it's good that the girl fessed up, saving you alot of trouble. When it rains, it pours. Once again good luck with everything.

 

Todd,

I feel bad for you and the kids. Thankfully you're not being a big jerk about it and giving them an overly hard time. Are you planning on having them work something out with you? Like paying for the damage in monthly installments? Or does it look like they have the money to front everything?

Got to admit they were pretty brave to come back after having run off in the first place. Funny that they'd do it on a Sunday though.

 

Todd, don't go half-way here. Although your sympathy is admirable, you must file an accident report, and probably call the police within XX hours. Don't skip this step, it's usually the law in most states if damage to either vehicle is over $XXX. If you avoid this for whatever reason, YOU could get into legal trouble, too.

No matter what she says or does, it's her problem, not yours. Don't create another problem for yourself by relying on the promise to pay from one who has already shown faulty judgment. I don't mean to sound harsh or cold, but I've seen too many big-hearted friends in similar circumstances wind up being the unwitting victim. My 2¢.

 

Yep, one of the first things i did after the crash is i called the Sheriff. They came out within several minutes and took the pieces that were left behind and gave me a case number.
So i will call the sheriff tomorrow and let them know what is going on.

The girl has insurance and i will be on the phone tomorrow also. I have delt with this insurance before and i think i'm in for a bit of a fight. This insurance likes to have you prove that the accident happend from their customer. Hopefully the girl will tell them everything.

BBB...

For some odd reason my wife and i decided that we had enough of spending so much money for a smaller house so we got this wild idea and decided to build a house ourselves
http://community.webshots.com/user/supwidit

 

that just happened to my 98 sc tacoma last night, but fortunately it was minor body damage, i ran out there and saw a fake ass green civic speeding away-- wouldnt you know it, i happened to have my keys on me and chased the mother**(**er down the streets of sacramento until he gave up and pulled over. i was just about to beat his ass with my breaker bar but decided to just call the CHP and let him go to jail-- he was also drunk with no liscense and no insurance in a car that wasnt his. I guess he thought he could outrun my truck.....im just as pissed as you, but ill get this little punk good in court.

T

 

Chop it , tube it, wheel it!

 

If in your situation, I'd call MY insurance agent and let them deal with the other driver's insurance company. It's your agents job to take care of you no matter what, and won't be chargeable to you. It shouldn't be a fight to collect, and won't be once your agent does their job. The other driver's insurance company might think they can lean on you individually, but won't take on all the lawyers from your agents side.

 

Hell Yeah, that is what I am sayin

 

dang this sounds formiliar..my 89 toyota p/u was rearended by some drunk idiot...and to beat that it was the day i baught the truck...good thing bout it the drunk didn't get far..sucks to hear this man...my suggestian would be call the police.. they'll do everthing u guys have mentioned..

 

He he he...
May have to do that

Well a friend of my father-in-laws stopped by a while ago. He owns his own body shop.
He said more than likely they will total out my rig
So if they do that i think i will see how much the insurance will give me. I did a NADA book value and high book is $4,150. Hopefully i can get something close to that.
So i will need to start shopping for some parts.