formula forever

so i was driving home sunday night when 3 teenagers tryed running across a busy street to see if they would all clear the road at the last second. Well not so lucky for one of them the kid ran in between 2 cars and ran right in front of me with no time to even react. I hit him going about 35 mph after we hit i thought for sure he's very hurt. No he jump right to his feet and takes off running away. i jump out and chase him on foot. caught him and phoned police. when i got back to my car i have a messed up hood broken light dented bumper and a dented side mirror{have no idea how he hit there} he was 15 years old and told me he was just messing around. Wow now i have to pay out of pocket for my own damage.

iroc stangs

Wow man thats just screwed up, when you caught up to him, I hope that included an tackle to the ground and face in the mud right
But thats really messed up that you have to pay for the damage, maybe try too get his dumbazz parents to pay up atleast for most of it?

Thank god we dont have THAT stupid of kids at my junior high.... but thats just it middle school, who knows what highschool is going be like haha.

Good luck with whatever ends up happening.

formula forever

thanks man. I did tackle him very good. the police torn him a new one. but im really suprised that he was fine from what i saw. when we hit he when flying about 20-25 feet it was crazy I will never forget it.

iroc stangs

Im thinking either that kid was drugged up on something, or he had 1 to many monsters IMHO. Is he in Juvi or did he get let go?

1BADZ28SD

iTrader: (4)

that sucks the bad part is u could not kick is a$$ because he a minor bad luck

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Lawsuit time. Take his parents to court.

-- Joe

stroken85z

wow thats nuts but atleast he was not hurt or killed i agree his parents should pay for the damage

DIRTY JERZY

Make that little snots parents pay for the damage this is america its how it works

micktroup2

I think the front of the 3rd gen is IDEAL for hitting pedestrians. Not recommending it, just saying!! It kind of scoops them up and rolls them up over the car. Can you imagine if you had been driving an SUV? That kid would have been UNDER the car... sue his parents, by the way.

Tobias05

"Give them nothing, but take from them, EVERYTHING!"
-Gerard Butler

'87IROCZOWNER69

iTrader: (1)

THIS IS SPARTA!!!! No but in all seriousness sue his azz! It makes me mad seeing teenagers giving all us good teenagers a bad name by vandelising stuff or trying to get run over by cars. You should have stayed in your car and ran him down again except this time park on him so he couldnt run away, I am pretty sure he would have been fine! I would have totally beat the crap out of him though. You should have treated him like a dog and dragged him over to your car and rubbed his nose into your front bumper and say "Look what you have done! Bad dog! Wait I mean boy.. yeah thats it boy" Just embarrass the crap out of him in front of his friends!

Gumby

Ditto, don't wait another day. Call them and ask for payment for damages or youll be forced to sue for damages plus lawyer cost.

Its a slam dunk case

spade

iTrader: (3)

i agreee

BigBadGTA

Sue his parents for the damages... Dumbass kids have no respect for other peoples things. Me and my friend were talking by our Trans Ams in my high school lot, and some dumb **** kids were playing with some stupid ball. Long story short it was on track to bounce off my GTA, but the kid caught it right before it hit. You should have seen the look on his face though because he knew if that thing touched my car he was in for a grade a *** whooping in front of the school cop. (who I am friends with)

bitchin_buick

this is hindsight, 20/20. Kids need to be taught cars kill! My mom died when I was 3(3/19/76) and I am not perfect but I preach hard. Sorry to be a downer but life has consequences. Cars Kill...... Formulaforever hope things work out for you and at least the kid is OK.

formula forever

So here is what im thinking. I want to sent is parents a letter saying if they don't pay for my damage i will go to court. Im fixing the stuff myself and doing them a favor saving them labor hours. I just want money for parts i can't afford to take of work to go to court. I found out the kid is fine. just brusied up.

Twin

That sounds like a pretty good plan of action. I can't stand all these teenagers giving us a bad-name. I'm a teenager, I drive a third-gen and you can bet your boots that if I caused damage to another persons car, I would certainly pay for it! For sure though, get all you can from it, it was the kids fault, so they should pay for it.

That's too bad about your car! I hope it'll be all nice and like new again soon!!

navy02ws6

Can't imagine how that's going to look on a Carfax...if you made a police report (which it sounds like you did), it's probably going to end up on the Carfax. Might want to consider that as additional diminished value if you decide to take him to court.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

To an insurance company, an '89 pontiac is worth about $500

In fact, last summer I was playing with the computer at my buddy's shop and I selected the front bumper cover and fender and I hit the "TOTALED" threshold..

-- Joe

terrorsquad77

insurance companies and bodyshops report to carfax, the police dont.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Depends on the agency. Many agencies will report one liners as "Vehicle collision in front right with object".

Other times, things don't get reported at all. I have a buddy who's mustang was rear ended. $3,000 in damage paid by the insurance agency and it never made it to carfax.

Yet I had a '96 Z28 that a kid ran off road and bent the rip. No insurance, the NH police department took a report. Showed up in carfax.

-- Joe

da.slyboy

iTrader: (1)

Am I the only one who doesn't think the OP has a case? He hit a person, who thankfully was not hurt, and wants the parents to pay for damage caused to the car. You're lucky the boys parents haven't turned around and sued the car owner yet (for neglected driving) . Granted it was the boy's fault, but I think it would be hard to build a case without the boy's parents counter-suing. The only way I see this working is if disabled your vehicle to the point where it's un-driveable (so you can not longer get to work/school).

KMK454

Depends on the situation as to who has "the case" here. Was he jaywalking? Or was he lawfully crossing in a designated crosswalk? How was the driver driving? What are the state laws regarding pedestrians?

Based on the fact that the original poster said the police yelled at the kid, I'm guessing the kid was not in a crosswalk (jaywalking) and state laws therefore gave right of way to the driver.

formula forever

I really don't see how the boys parents can counter sue me. I was not issued a ticket the boy was issued 2 tickets. i have 2 witness that were driving next to me one behind me and one infront. there was no intersection in sight nor was there any cross walk. it was night and he sprinted across a dark street without looking. im sure no judge would Give his parents anything. as for damage i already replaced the headlight unit for 70 bucks. now this weekend onto fixing the hood.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Yeah you are the only one

Look at the elements of the case:

1) Busy street
2) Kids running across street with disregard for safety
3) Police involved
4) Kid confessed to "messing around" I.e, negligence.

If there was a cross walk and they did not use it they are at fault. The law is going to look into the reasonableness of the elements. Where the kids old enough to reasonably understand the danger of crossing the street? Was a crosswalk available to them, and did they choose not to use it?

I'd sue him, reference the police report. The kid wasn't detained for a crime and therefore miranda is not necesary, he voluntarily gave the information that he was "messing around". It seems that he reasonably understood his negligent actions lead to the damage of personal property.


-- Joe

The_Maniac

iTrader: (2)

I'm siding with everyone else to quote your response.
1. - Sounds like the kid was jay walking (running). Through a BUSY street of all places.
2. - He fled the scene of the accident. I think the OP did a great thing chasing him down and calling the cops. Otherwise the kid OR a witness could report it to the cops and the OP may have been slammed with a hit-n-run.
3. - Seeing as the cops did NOT cite the OP, it's in HIS favor that the kid (who was cited) was clearly wrong.

I think the OP should take a shot at contacting the kids parents for some form of payment for damages their kid caused as a result of this foolish behavior. I know they say pedestrians always have the right of way, but just based on who the cops cited and didn't cite dictates in this case the pedestrian did not have the right of way.

From what I've read, if the parents do not want to assist in working out something for repair of the OP's car, I feel there are grounds at least to speak to an attorney (an experienced attorney should then have an idea as to if there is a case or not).

formula forever

Just want to thank you all for the input. i will get this car looking tip top again soon.

da.slyboy

iTrader: (1)

Good points. I was just concern since in some states if you hit the back of another car, no matter what the reason is, the person who hit the car is still at fault. I can understand if the car was parked or stationary and the kid jumped on the hood and damaged it, but I think people are still missing the point that the OP hit the kid and now wants him (or his parents) to pay for damages. I don't know that much about the law system (except that it's screwed up) but I would think the defense could get away with saying the driver should have been paying closer attention (that whole defensive driving thing) and end up with higher court costs than actual damages to the vehicle.

But it never hurts to asks. I just wouldn't get too crazy with it if they turn the OP down.

Matt1821

You should have taken pics of the damage. Good thing the kid survived, but the parents should definitely pay.

formula forever

here are some pic's There are some more like a dented side mirror and a dented fender. I know when we first hit he collide with my side mirror and fender first. i will be replacing the hood.

hardon85

Well I don't know what the law would say if you have a case or not (I'm not an attorney and I didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night either ) but if I were you I would take it to a body shop and get an official estimate as to what it would take to repair your car. Then I would get a copy of the police report and estimate and talk to an attorney FIRST and the reason for this is I know you are trying to be a nice guy about this but you could get some verbal agreement and they never pay you, maybe not being intentional jerks but they may not just have a couple thousand dollars sitting in the bank or maybe they would be jerks about it and say "You hit my son with your car and you expect us to pay for for your car".

Now my reasoning for all of this is

#1. Body shops are professionals and they are in the business of providing estimates which the court will trust more than they will trust your estimate. Also they may find more damage that you did not see. You might see $400 with just a used headlight fender and hood but they may see other things (like broken braces or other underlying damage)

#2. I would talk to an attorney simply because he can tell you real quick if you have a case or not, as I stated I am not an attorney and most likely no one else here is either and laws are different in different states so a local attorney would be your best bet for example here in the great state of Minnesota if you are involved in an accident you are always partially at fault because you are on the road. Another reason for this is everything is documented right away if you would need to sue them in 6 months or a year (for not paying you). Also if they don't have the money to pay for it my understanding is if they are found at fault by the court they could have their wages garnished to make sure you get paid. (I would think their insurance of some sort would cover it though, maybe their auto insurance?) And keep in mind talking to an attorney is not filing a lawsuit many attorneys will give free consultations which is basically advice and what you do with it is up to you.

To be honest with you as a parent this scares the daylights out of me not only because my child could obviously be seriously hurt from a little stupidity but also something like this could cost me for something I never did but I guess that's part of having kids. I get the impression you really want to be the nice guy and not shaft them to bad which is great but be careful this could come back to bite you. But after you talk to the attorney I would go talk to the parents no matter what the attorney says, if you have a good case I would show them everything the attorney has said and just kind of feel them out if they are decent about it you could say "Hey I know you didn't actually do this and I don't want to be the bad guy here so I could possibly try and find some used parts to help out with this and put them on myself," I would wait until the end to use this tactic though, but if they are jerks about it you can just say "well the body shop says there is $3000 worth of damage here and I'm not responsible for this since I didn't cause it". I know exactly where you are coming from with trying to be the nice guy but this can bite you from what I have learned your best bet is to have everything documented that you are in the right and then talk to them and say "hey I'd rather keep the lawyers out of this since it will just be a lot of wasted costs (court costs, wages for missing work) also keep in mind if you do need to take this to court lost wages can be asked for also. Also keep in mind (according to your story) your car was damaged at no fault of your own so it shouldn't cost you anything even labor to get it fixed, if I were you I would get it fixed by a reputable body shop so you know it's done right and that isn't to much to ask for either. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

The_Maniac

iTrader: (2)

Not being an attorney, it's a tough call. Others on this thread recommended he consult an attorney first. By and far, reasonable advice. I still feel he has some ground to stand on, especially since the cops did not cite him and the kid ran from the scene. I understand how the "defensive driving" should play into this, but with my limited understanding, if it were to play into this, he should have been cited the night all this happened. Not to mention, the kid who caused this already admitted to "screwing around".

Bottom line is, the OP should get a reputable estimate of repair from a body shop and consult an attorney. But after that, I'd agree with taking a shot at contacting the parents. Anything the parents agree to should also be put into writing. But truly, if the attorney thinks the OP has a case, the parents would greatly benefit to solving this out of court.

RedRokkit

FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE... In Richmond VA I knew a dude who roomed with my brother who (dude not my bro) waited for a nice pricey car to come by and he deliberately walked into the path of it....he was lookin for some pain meds and someone who would settle out of court and set this waste of skin up for a nice fat holiday.....too bad he picked a lawyers mom!! Long story short, the owners of the car sued him and won!! He got exactly squat and was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor.....Gotta love Karma...So you definitly have a case against this kid that ADMITTED it was his fault by "screwing around"....

spr250

Where I live, since you have witnesses to say that it was dark and what not with traffic currently passing through, 3 cars total, it is reasonable to assume that, that three cars coming better watch and wait. The kid was ticketed and not the driver, so that will help. Having an estimate from a repair shop will help, but if you can come up with cheap parts and charge labor to what the average is for your area you can charge that. If your estimate is cheaper that a repair shop the judge can use that. I know that from experience, I had my bike stolen and I was told since I was a mechanic I can do my own repairs, charge what the shops charge for labor and parts and pocket the labor charge to pay for my time fixing it. I never finished taking it to court because it would have taken me over state lines which is tricky. So what I would do is, get an estimate from a couple of repair shops-helps show your not going for an expensive one or using just a friends, come up with your own estimate- with parts that you can get, what your labor would be worth and everything else that would be needed and the finish up talking to a lawyer. Even though there is damage, the insurance company should look at the value of before the damage for it. If you provide the judge that your being fair about things it can help you out alot in court.

'87IROCZOWNER69

iTrader: (1)

I agree with hardon 85. I have a little story for you. For example one of my sisters ex-boyfriends when he was about 10 he was riding his bike around the neighborhood in the street. He then went through this intersection and was run over by a car. The car had not come to a complete stop at said intersection but they were not at fault at the accident. When the car hit him they ended up on top of him and his bike and I think he had gotten really bloodied up and sprained his wrist. The person then yelled at him to pay them for the damage.

In the end the kid that hit his parents had to pay for it. Also it is all about perspective, one person sees it as "hey you hit my kid, I should be sueing you for doing so" and the other side it's like "Well your kid ran out into traffic when I had the green light". In your case I am pretty sure they will (or will have to) pay to fix your car. They are lucky you know how to repair cars well enough to save them the money by fixing the car yourself.

native1031

The law looks at he facts from my experience. If in the police report he said he was just messing around then theres nothing the parents can do. He admits to running in front of a moving vehicle even when he knew he could get severely hurt so I dont know how they would be able to.

If you tell the judge you just want payment for parts they will most likely go your way. Its not like your trying to take everything from them.

formula forever

just a little update. I went ahead and installed new hood plus new headlight unit. car is looking better but my fender to hood has a very big gap in it.going to have to get that right. I am getting there. But i have done lots of thinking and I have decided to let this go. i know i know why right. I did talk to the boys parents and they are not buying into what i have to say. So this is coming right out of my savings. attorney says it not worth taking to court he says it all depends on the judge you have and im not going to chance it. I will keep you all updated with pics. Thanks everyone.

Slash

that ------- ----- dude. Did anything at all happen to punish the kids..?

Mad_IROC-Z

The old saying "thats what insurance is for" is no more. Its now "thats what courts are for".
I watch a lot of the court shows on TV and all they do is award the blue book value. What is it and will that get you enough to fix it? Sometimes they will award for the time off work bust most the time not. Maybe if you can get an estimate of repairs that does not exceed the value you can get that awarded and then along with it an estimated cost of a renatl car added as well. say the value is $1500 and your estimate says $1450 they may award that plus the rental cost of $200, know what I mean. Take his *** to judge Mathis! These court shows will guarantee payment somehow, maybe something to look into.

I don't know what your small claims are like but here, you get an option to work things out first with a medicator. It save a judgement against a person from going onto their credit. I wen through this not long ago after some evil woman destroyed my car in a parking lot. Mediation did not go by book value, just what I was suing for.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

I'll give you an opportunity to edit that post rather than immediately put you on probation. Bypassing the swear filter is a big no-no here.

This is a family-friendly site, and posts like this could cause us to be placed on a content filter list, which would disallow TGO access from K-12 resources. That is not acceptable.

Thank you for understanding!

-- Joe

formula forever

well here are some pics from today. Notice the hood looks like its open but its not.

Mad_IROC-Z

Ooooo thats a good trick. Photoshop???

formula forever

??

Mad_IROC-Z

A joke!?!?!
Whooooosh!

racerquinny

iTrader: (1)

hahaha i had the same problem...but it was with bambi running across the turnpike while i was doing 75 in the passing lane!!!!!

just damaged my windsheild and my door...so i replaced most things on my car...but car is totaled. i have a thread on it revival..............https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...tion-91rs.html

Grampa

It could have been worse! I mean he could have expired, and you would have been liable for it, or the ins co would be.

The town I used to live in, the HS kids had and still have, a very nasty habit of walking right out in front of moving traffic, knowing full well, they don not have the right of way.
I remember some years ago, several of them did this, in front of a pickup truck. Killed three of them, injured several others.
Many people automatically started assuming the pickup driver was at fault. Parents were suing the ins co, and him personally.
Almost a year had passed after the ordeal, when it came to light a church at the intersection had video surveillance of their parking lot, which happened to cover the view of the intersection involved.
Seems, the teenagers who'd been struck had had a bad habit of jumping out in front of vehicles when they were going through intersection. Apparently the resolution was sufficient to verify the three killed were some of the ones who were jumping out in front of traffic.
YES, the lawsuits against the driver were dropped, but his insurance company still paid the parents.

Dumb a$$ kids cost people a lot of time and effort.
Sometimes, they're best eliminated from the gene pool.

Slash

l0l glad i looked back at thread. Sorry rofl, i use tons of forums each day that are F-body related, forgot this one even had the censor to begin w/ wasn't trying to avoid it, forgot it was there lol. blocked em out w/ dashes now tho.

Mad_IROC-Z

Yeah whats up with that! My first grader was in here the other day because he is working on his Camaro and he told me "daddy, some idiot spelled a swear word wrong".

The Project

iTrader: (6)

Make sure you have LOTs of pics of the damage, a copy of the police report, two estimates from a garage and tell the parents to pay up or you'll sue.

Maybe you'll end up on Judge Judy...she loves to tear into irresponsible teens. Plus you know you'll get paid.

iroc-z_23

iTrader: (1)

From the looks of your hood it looks like many your hinges are bent or the inner fender structure.. Sucks about your car