Yep. After two weeks of waiting and less than 400 miles in only eight days since picking the car up and someone basically side-swipted the back of my TCH! It ripped the rear bumper right off and broke the right rear taillight. I'm sooooo mad right now. And the driver of the truck that hit me fled the scene on foot!!!! Fortunately the passenger did not flee and gave me all his information, car info, and the info on the driver. This happened in a strip mall and fortunately there was a security guard that witnessed the aftermath (driver fleeing, etc), and will be a good witness if necessary. We didn't call the cops since we got all the relevant info, but man my TCH looks terrible without that bumper. I'll try and post some pictures before it goes into the body shop. We have an appointment with the insurance adjuster Wednesday.

So if you see a titanium TCH around San Diego missing the rear bumper you know what happened! And I had just given the car it's first wash the day before!!!

Oh no! I hope that the other driver had up-to-date insurance.

call the cops.

I imagine that your insureance compnay would insist on it. They will probably need a copy of the police report.

besides, fleeing the scene of an accident is a criminal act. do the public a favour and help the authorities in dealing with this person.

Possibly there are more important reasons for this persons fleeing the scene of an accident (outstanding warrants,etc.. ) The police would probably appreciate such info on the driver's whereabout in that case.

that's my two cents.

I don't mean to be rude in any way and I feel terrible about what happened to your car, but what on earth is the thought process on not calling the police???

It makes NO sense. Regardless of the circumstance, you should call the police when something like this happens because you will NEED a police report. Without a police report, everything can be questioned. Even with witnesses. You want to get the other driver's information, you want to document the exact time, weather conditions, license status of the other driver, and most importantly damage.

ESPECIALLY when the damage is fairly major. I know you'll run it through insurance and hopefully have it taken care of, but you have no idea how often a seemingly simple situation in which the other driver is agreeable turns south. I've heard and see it personally happen to family members.

So, bean is 100% correct. Always call the police.

I appreciate both of your opinions. Thank you. There is a bit more info to this story however. And MFLetou I'm not going to be left high and dry, and the damage is mostly cosmetic. This wasn't a high speed collision that occurred on a city street, it was a fender bender in the parking lot. And it was not as if the driver jumped out of the car and ran away. She was there for a few minutes then claimed she had to go to work and took off. To be honest I did not even realize she had been the one driving until after she had left and I began getting the info from the passenger. I was in a bit of shock after seeing what happened to my TCH. The owner of the other vehicle arrived on the scene when I was about ready to call the police. He however provided me with his proof of insurance on the vehicle involved and all other relevant info on the vehicle involved in the accident. I will speak with my insurance agent on Monday and take it from there.

What he said

Perhaps things will turn out well for you, but it is probably best to always call the police. Sometimes at the scene a person will be very amicable, but then afterwards will start singing other tunes. The driver may claim that you were at fault, that her vehicle suffered significant damages for which you should pay, and/or that she was injured in the accident.

Which is what my wife is going through now with our minivan . My wife said they were very pleasant at the scene of the accident and now it looks like greed has taken over and the story is quite a bit different. People are strange sometimes.

Not sure about the laws in your state, but in Ontario, Canada the police must be notified of accidents.

It's the law.

Duty to report an accident

Ontario Highway Traffic Act Part XIV, section 199

section 199.6 explains that

failure to notify

is an offence possible $400 - 20, 000 fine

The driver using the excuse I have to go to work is bogus. (it's still leaving the scene of an accident.)

this person could have a multitude of reasons for taking off from the scene that the police would like to investigate.

inebriated? currently in possesion of stolen property or illicit drugs, parole violation?, not abiding by certain driving restrictions ie. not wearing prescriptions eyeware when needed.

the accident took place in a parking lot, (at a mall?), not truly a "public space" , most often considered private property. if I owned that property I would expect my customers to abide by the law.

just some thoughts to consider.

I hope your car gets fixed good and proper and in good time. They may need to rent you a car for a while. keep us informed.

That happened to me. Someone backed into the side of my car. All her fault, no problem, my insurance will take care of it. A couple of days later I call her insurance company and all of a sudden we were both at fault. As it is I brought my car to her insurance company. The adjuster took one look at the damage to my driver door and said "you weren't moving, it's not your fault". But it's amazing how stories change after time.