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It's about 9 pm, I'm sitting at a red light on my way home from the store. Suddenly I feel something hit me from behind, I look up and see a young guy in a car behind me, clearly startled. I'm upset, I love this car and can't stand anything happening to it, but accidents happen. The light turns green and I signal that I'm going left to pull over and exchange information when suddenly the car cuts out around me to the right into an open turn lane and floors it!. I sit there for a moment in shock, trying to grab my phone in time to get a photo but can't get the camera out fast enough so I decide "Oh hell no!" and take off in pursuit. There's no way this Honda Civic is going to out run my Corvette, I'm getting his plate.
I'm chasing him for what seems like forever. Really it was probably 2 or 3 miles and bout 3 minutes, but it's all a blur. He's driving crazy, he blows through a red light, then another cutting cars off and barely avoiding wrecking. Not wanting to lose him I slow down, make sure it's clear and then follow through the red light. He gets to another intersection, fakes he's going right, then cuts left through another intersection, I follow. He ends up on a 2 lane road with traffic and I think this is it, I got you! I'm behind him, snapping photos but they're not in focus. Suddenly he cuts out into on coming traffic and passes the traffic nearly having a head on collision. I wait for the traffic to pass and the road to open up and floor it. My exhaust is screaming and within 2 or 3 seconds I've closed a 3 block gap and am right back on his ***.
Realizing he's not going to lose me on long straights he cuts into a neighborhood drifting turns into narrow roads narrowly missing parked cars and speeding through quiet neighborhoods. I'm convinced he's going to crash into some else's car or blow his engine at any moment. At some point in all of this the front bumper of his car had partially begun falling off and was being dragged behind his car sending a shower of sparks flying towards me. Around this point I realize that I'm in a real life Hollywood style high speed chase that could be put into a movie and it's seriously intense!
After a few more harrowing turns I notice he's pulled into an apartment complex cul de sac with speed bumps and parking lots. As he cuts a corner into a parking lot narrowing missing a parked BMW he smashes his car into a speed bump entering the area finishing off his bumper. I watched as he speed off leaving his bumper behind, relieved knowing I had is plates.
Pulling over I quickly got out of my car and approached the bumper to collect it when I see him speeding back down the parking lot towards the way he came in. When he saw me going to grab his plate he stopped the car, jumped out and came at me aggressively. Never one to back away from a fight I stood my ground shouting at him to explain what he was thinking. He clearly is intent on fighting his way out of this and honestly I'm glad, I had been holding back from beating his *** the moment he got out of the car, "give me an excuse" I'm thinking as he comes at me swinging. He's slow and sloppy so I take my time, watching him, looking for my openings. He lands a punch, it's about as hard as a strong gust of wind. I return the favor by showing him how to throw a proper hook with a right to his jaw. He trys throwing a kick but I catch it and throw him off balance following it with another punch. He's starting to move away and isn't being as aggressive anymore. His friend who was in the passenger seat is telling him to chill out this whole time and it's starting to get through because he suddenly starts apologizing and wants to hug it out.
He genuinely feels bad (he should) and is starting to realize how bad he's fucked up. He starts tearing up telling me his story about how he's drunk (I could smell it on his breath already), driving his GFs car who he has been fighting with, has no insurance and doesn't want to go to jail (who does). I'd honestly feel bad for him if he didn't hit and run and then start throwing punches at me when I cornered him, but he did, so I don't. He keeps trying to convince me that he's got the cash to pay me for the damage which I keep rejecting it telling him I'm going to call the cops. I notice a crowd starting to form from people coming out of their homes and the cops roll up.
I talk to some of the other people who have come outside and learn that it was a dead end that he went down and he had hit one of their parked cars trying to turn around and get out. During the police taking his statement I hear him admitting to not only drinking but also smoking pot before getting behind the wheel.
At the end of it all he ended up spending the night in jail on a DUI and I get to have my insurance rates go up thanks to an uninsured driver.
At least he didn't get away with it.
As far as the damage, I haven't gotten a quote yet but I know for sure the black portion of the bumper needs to be replaced. The drivers side exhaust pipes are either bent and need to be replaced or the mounts for it are bent. The bumper is either bent and needs to be replaced or the bumper covers mounts are broken. The red portion of the bumper cover needs to be painted and possibly has broken mounting hardware behind it, i doubt this needs to be replaced at least. Plus what ever hidden damage is under the bumper cover. My personal estimate is that it's going to be around $6-10,000 in repairs and diminished value. I'm going to try and work it out so I can update to a nice carbon fiber diffuser in the back, so hey maybe it'll work out for me in the end.
I'm not even sure how he punctured a hole in the bumper... but he did.
If you look closely you can see the exhaust pipes are no longer aligned correctly and the gaps between them are inconsistent.
Rear bumper/mounting brackets caved in enough that the bumper is bulging out.
Really sorry this happened. Stinks. In a bunch of ways. You take great care of your car, and some idiot hits you, does damage, and takes off on you. Truly a bad deal.
But I'm also going to suggest that, now that your adrenaline isn't running hot, that you consider what happened next and the unintended consequences that could have happened due to the actions that you took after the perp took off.
Years ago I worked as a LEO. My best friend here is the Police Chief of our city. Taking the law into your own hands by chasing him could have resulted in much more than property damage. As you stated, you chased him for 2-3 miles - he ran red lights, cut cars off, and you were worried that he would hit someone. The guy was obviously an idiot and didn't care, and you chasing him added to the danger.
What if he ran a light while you were chasing him and hit a car or pedestrian and killed someone? He would have been in much more trouble, but so would you. What if he was packing. You knew he was nuts - what if when you caught up with him he pulled a gun and shot you dead? Lots of really bad things could have happened due to the actions you decided to take - and it could have been much worse. All over some property damage that your insurance would have covered anyway - and will since he has no insurance.
I'm not suggesting that many of us would not have done the same thing you did. All of us are guilty of making some bad moves when emotions are high. I'm just suggesting that you might want to think twice before taking on your own high speed chase that endangers you and others - and you aren't trained to do so either.
I hope your car gets fixed well, and that it is never noticeable to you or anyone else after.
Really sorry this happened. Stinks. In a bunch of ways. You take great care of your car, and some idiot hits you, does damage, and takes off on you. Truly a bad deal.
But I'm also going to suggest that, now that your adrenaline isn't running hot, that you consider what happened next and the unintended consequences that could have happened due to the actions that you took after the perp took off.
Years ago I worked as a LEO. My best friend here is the Police Chief of our city. Taking the law into your own hands by chasing him could have resulted in much more than property damage. As you stated, you chased him for 2-3 miles - he ran red lights, cut cars off, and you were worried that he would hit someone. The guy was obviously an idiot and didn't care, and you chasing him added to the danger.
What if he ran a light while you were chasing him and hit a car or pedestrian and killed someone? He would have been in much more trouble, but so would you. What if he was packing. You knew he was nuts - what if when you caught up with him he pulled a gun and shot you dead? Lots of really bad things could have happened due to the actions you decided to take - and it could have been much worse. All over some property damage that your insurance would have covered anyway - and will since he has no insurance.
I'm not suggesting that many of us would not have done the same thing you did. All of us are guilty of making some bad moves when emotions are high. I'm just suggesting that you might want to think twice before taking on your own high speed chase that endangers you and others - and you aren't trained to do so either.
I hope your car gets fixed well, and that it is never noticeable to you or anyone else after.
After chasing for a while he cuts into an apartments cul de sac where he tore the rest of his bumper off on a speed bump. At this time I pulled over to grab the bumper since it has his license plate number and that's all I was after.
My friend had a similar thing happen to him, all the while the guy who hit him was on the phone with his gangbanger friends. The guy pulls over near an apartment building in a cul de sac, gets out the car and starts taunting my friend. About 6 guys show up out of nowhere and proceed to beat the **** out of my friends car with baseball bats. He gets hit in the shoulder and neck while still inside the car.
my buddy guns it in reverse, runs one of the guys over and barely escapes with his life. He calls 911 and meets the cops about 3 blocks away they tell him to stay put with one of the sheriffs.
after a few hours of talking to neighbors, they sheriffs were able to identify the driver. He was arrested the next day. Long story short. They never found the friends and he didn't rat them out. The Hit in run driver is in prison now.
be careful who you follow.... sometimes it's not worth it.
As I'm getting out of the car and walking up to grab the bumper he comes racing back, jumps out of his car and starts throwing punches. I proceed to beat his *** until he calmed down and started crying and apologizing. Saying it was an accident, he's drunk has no insurance, it's not his car, he doesn't want to go to jail, etc. and started trying to offer me cash to let him go...
After a few minutes the cops show up and it turns out that he ended up at a dead end further down the cul de sac and hit a second parked car turning around to try and get back out and in addition to being drunk he had been smoking pot just before he left. After everything was said and done he spent the night in jail on a DUI and I get to pay higher insurance rates thanks to an uninsured driver... *sigh*
Forgive me I'm unclear about something - he supposedly jumped out of his car and you bet him up then a few minutes later the cops show up and he had somehow gotten back into his car and hit a second parked car? How and when did he get back into his car? Why would you let him go instead of keep him there and call 911? I don't understand. Or are you saying he hit that second parked car in the dead end and then turned around and got beat up by you? If so that wasn't clear at all.
Secondly why do you think your ins rates would go up when it's clear that he hit you and he had no insurance? It's clearly not your fault and I don't see how they could raise your rates for that.
DUDE.... straight up OP.... that guy could have stopped his car and shot and killed you. Motherf*ckers are crazy. THE car is not worth it... see my post above..
if a drunk, high dude came at me swinging, he'd probably be ventilated. If you beat him senseless, why didn't he stay down? Buy a taser or some good pepper spray.
Sorry for the car ... as others have said, your safety is #1. You can fix the rear end - go carbon fiber - but only have one life to live.
Good grief that's a tough one OP.. sorry to hear it. Glad you caught him and I knew when you referenced the bumper falling off that's way you were waiting for. smart move.
hope all gets fixed. And truth be told the insurance doesn't go up if you get hit and run. Next time leave it be. Most often you're better off not even having the driver caught (for insurance claims purposes). Not worth the effort.
Forgive me I'm unclear about something - he supposedly jumped out of his car and you bet him up then a few minutes later the cops show up and he had somehow gotten back into his car and hit a second parked car? How and when did he get back into his car? Why would you let him go instead of keep him there and call 911? I don't understand. Or are you saying he hit that second parked car in the dead end and then turned around and got beat up by you? If so that wasn't clear at all.
Secondly why do you think your ins rates would go up when it's clear that he hit you and he had no insurance? It's clearly not your fault and I don't see how they could raise your rates for that.
Yeah he hit the car turning around before he came back.
Originally Posted by Hopper12
Really sorry this happened. Stinks. In a bunch of ways. You take great care of your car, and some idiot hits you, does damage, and takes off on you. Truly a bad deal.
But I'm also going to suggest that, now that your adrenaline isn't running hot, that you consider what happened next and the unintended consequences that could have happened due to the actions that you took after the perp took off.
Years ago I worked as a LEO. My best friend here is the Police Chief of our city. Taking the law into your own hands by chasing him could have resulted in much more than property damage. As you stated, you chased him for 2-3 miles - he ran red lights, cut cars off, and you were worried that he would hit someone. The guy was obviously an idiot and didn't care, and you chasing him added to the danger.
What if he ran a light while you were chasing him and hit a car or pedestrian and killed someone? He would have been in much more trouble, but so would you. What if he was packing. You knew he was nuts - what if when you caught up with him he pulled a gun and shot you dead? Lots of really bad things could have happened due to the actions you decided to take - and it could have been much worse. All over some property damage that your insurance would have covered anyway - and will since he has no insurance.
I'm not suggesting that many of us would not have done the same thing you did. All of us are guilty of making some bad moves when emotions are high. I'm just suggesting that you might want to think twice before taking on your own high speed chase that endangers you and others - and you aren't trained to do so either.
I hope your car gets fixed well, and that it is never noticeable to you or anyone else after.
I agree 100%.
In the moment I'm the kind of person that reflexively swings back, or in this case gives pursuit without thinking. Knowing this tendency is why I typically carry, but in this instance was not, which considering in hindsight how everything went down was probably for the best.
Last edited by Steve Garrett; 08-24-2017 at 08:53 AM.
Reason: Merged Posts-please use the Multi-Quote button (the middle icon) in the lower right hand corner of each post to make your reply look like this.
Unless I'm recalling it wrong, Portland is a "sanctuary city."
Much too dangerous for property damage which is your car. A drunk and drug user coming out and toward you--far too many guns on the street to be optimistic about your outcome being a positive one. Glad it was.
Hopefully you're right. I've done auto body restoration before so I'm okay and figuring out what parts need replacement and what can be fixed so I priced out the parts I know need replacement and was at $2,600 in parts without paint and labor.
If the exhaust is okay and it's just the mounts then that would drop a lot. When my Audi got hit the break down was about 50% parts 50% paint & labor so I'm assuming double the parts estimate. That's how I ended up at around $6,000, $10,000 is basically if there's more damage under the bumper cover that I cant see, though it's unlikely.
Really sorry this happened. Stinks. In a bunch of ways. You take great care of your car, and some idiot hits you, does damage, and takes off on you. Truly a bad deal.
But I'm also going to suggest that, now that your adrenaline isn't running hot, that you consider what happened next and the unintended consequences that could have happened due to the actions that you took after the perp took off.
Years ago I worked as a LEO. My best friend here is the Police Chief of our city. Taking the law into your own hands by chasing him could have resulted in much more than property damage. As you stated, you chased him for 2-3 miles - he ran red lights, cut cars off, and you were worried that he would hit someone. The guy was obviously an idiot and didn't care, and you chasing him added to the danger.
What if he ran a light while you were chasing him and hit a car or pedestrian and killed someone? He would have been in much more trouble, but so would you. What if he was packing. You knew he was nuts - what if when you caught up with him he pulled a gun and shot you dead? Lots of really bad things could have happened due to the actions you decided to take - and it could have been much worse. All over some property damage that your insurance would have covered anyway - and will since he has no insurance.
I'm not suggesting that many of us would not have done the same thing you did. All of us are guilty of making some bad moves when emotions are high. I'm just suggesting that you might want to think twice before taking on your own high speed chase that endangers you and others - and you aren't trained to do so either.
I hope your car gets fixed well, and that it is never noticeable to you or anyone else after.
Well said. This story is Darwin Award worthy. It's just a damned car, not worthy of being injured or killed over.
Yes it is, but that just means we don't deport law abiding immigrants that have lived here for decades simply because our president is a racist. Portland is a very low crime city we all just smoke weed and go on hikes / bike rides.
I can see you got my post wrong, but that's not the only thing. I'm outta here.
08-23-2017, 09:35 PM
Got rear ended by a drunk :(
