Nailed by Hit & Run, Chapter Two

Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since I was hit by a pickup truck. We all
had fun discussing it here, but in the meantime I discovered a few sad
facts. Yes, the incident was assigned a case number by San Jose
Police, but they had no intention of investigating since the truck was
wearing dealer advertising instead of a Ca license plate. "We don't
have manpower to go searching for a phantom...blah blah, blah blah." I
was not happy about that.

I thought about it and decided that since I'm unemployed and the
police don't have time, I would go cruising through every parking lot
in widening circles around the scene of the incident, looking for a
match. Started in the morning, and found the vehicle that afternoon.
Same color, same size, same dealer advertising. Two blocks from the
hit & run.

Next day I went back to the intersection where I was hit, I waited
there from 9 am until, guess what? At 9:15 I saw the same vehicle exit
the freeway, go into the same lane from which he hit me, and make a
right turn, driving two blocks to the same parking place where I found
the truck the day before. Now I had placed the vehicle at the scene,
at the time of the hit & run, and I had more matching data points than
coincidence could explain.

I started a Word doc to document all of this and began staking out the
intersection, recording times and observations, establishing a pattern
of behavior. My son assisted me by taking surreptitious photos of the
truck since I'm afraid that once the license plates are put on it,
witnesses will never identify it. I also sidled up to it and copied
down the VIN and Temporary ID numbers.

Compiled all of this into a four page report, and turned it in to the
San Jose Police. They have now activated the investigation, you know,
now that I've done half their work for them.

I'm not deeply optimistic since it's all circumstantial and a good
lawyer could probably prevent even an indictment, but I have to
try...and if all the satisfaction I can get is that this pond scum has
to pay a lawyer, well, I guess that will have to do.

I was surprised that my auto insurance covers me when I'm a pedestrian
(which is how they class cycling) for medical, so the nice ambulance
ride and hospital visit will be paid for. Road rash is almost healed,
I am walking un-gimpy again, but my back still feels as if some voodoo
students are using me as a practice dummy.

Advice to others: Get witness names and phones...don't assume that the
police will give them to you, they probably won't, you may need to do
your own investigation and to request a copy of the police report
takes too long, you want to talk to witnesses while the incident is
fresh in their minds.

Cheers,
ABS


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