Ok kiddies, here's the story. I was at work and had run over to the store across the parking lot,(work related...I was buying limes) but I digress. I was coming back when I spotted 2 of Shane's buddies coming towards me, and they were saying: "oh, you're gonna be SO pissed...someone hit your vehicle." Of course, I'm answering: "Oh you guys, you're kidding me." Joke, joke, you know how it is when you think someone is pulling your leg. Although I couldn't figure out why they would. Cerri holds out 2 pieces of paper with names and phone numbers on them and said: "Seriously, these 2 people witnessed it." So, they walk me over to my truck, and I see bits and pieces of her all over the place. I will admit I swore. Out loud. The woman who saw it happen, followed the truck and took down his plate # however, so I went inside and phoned the RCMP, who I must say, after taking all my info and then having his computer "boot him out" and losing it all and then re-taking it again, was very helpful and nice and funny. He said someone would get back to me. He was in Kelowna, 8 hours away, so he couldn't help me with tow-truck info at all. Finally, an RCMP from here phones me with Bad News. The plate number isn't correct. There is no such number. I swore again. However, this is where the story gets funny and the Small Town comes into play.
I phoned the woman who had followed the fellow, just to thank her, and tell her what's up, and she apologized and said: "Well, it's a unique vehicle and I'd recognize it anywhere, so if I ever see it, I'll phone the cops, they gave me the file #." And she told me what the truck looked like and I said: "I know that truck. I pass it every day and I always comment to my husband about it." I thanked her again, and hung up; turned to my co-worker and described the truck and she said: "I know that truck. The driver was just in here!" At that moment, Steven shows up (I had phoned him already, so he knew) I told him: "Good news, bad news. The plate isn't registered, but we know who it is." I told him, and he went up there right away. He looked at the truck, saw fresh scuff marks all over the tire, and the plate # that the woman had given us was 3405 and the plate on the truck was 3504. Bingo! (by the way, those aren't the real numbers.) So I phoned the RCMP again and told them, and I sent Steven home to get the camera and to go and take pix of the tire before the fellow cleaned it up, or left town. He returned to the vehicle's house, and it was gone! Needless to say, he's really annoyed at this point, because if we can't track the guy down, I have to pay my $300.00 deductible, plus I won't get a rental vehicle. So, as he is coming down to tell me this...he sees the truck! He pulls the fellow over and explains to him what happened, and tells him that it's a hit and run. The fellow says it wasn't him, and that he wasn't even at the store. So Steve throws his hands up and says: "Play it your way. There were 2 witnesses, and the store has you on surveillance camera, proving that you were there at the same time the witnesses say you were there, plus the cops are looking for you." So the fellow got scared and followed Steven back to the store. As we are chatting and he is swearing that he didn't know he hit me, the RCMP phones me back and says: "Just wanted to let you know that we have a lead on where the truck might be." I said: "Yes, it was me who phoned that in, and actually, you might want to come down here since my husband went and got him and they're all here now!" So, she came down and took everyone's statement and ticketed the fellow for leaving the scene ($396.00) and told him to be happy that Steven had found him and brought him down because if the RCMP had done it, he would have been ticketed with hit & run, which is much, much more expensive. So, ICBC will pay for a rental for me until such time as mine is fixed (which will be about 2 and half months) I get a vehicle the same standard as my own since I was insured for to and from work. I don;t have to pay any dectuctible at all (sometimes you have to pay it and then be reimbursed) and until I get a rental (umm..small town also has it's drawbacks, there aren't any right now, probably not for 2 days) but she told me to take a taxi wherever I needed to go and just bring the receipts down for her to reimburse me...right away, not through the mail or anything. Obviously I don't need to utilize that, Steven will just drive me to and from work for the next day or 2. But we couldn't do that for 2 and half months, I work a few night shifts a week and he can't be coming to get me at 11:15 at night all the time.
The damage is almost $5,000. The radiator, front grill, steel impact bar, lights, bumper, fender plus a myraid of other odds and ends all need to be fixed. What amazed the repair fellows was the fact that the impact bar was rippled. They said that takes a massive amount of force to do, which is why I think he must have known he hit me. I can see ripping a plastic grill with a huge truck and maybe not realizing it. Oh well, all's well that ends well. That's why we buy insurance.
I phoned the woman who had followed the fellow, just to thank her, and tell her what's up, and she apologized and said: "Well, it's a unique vehicle and I'd recognize it anywhere, so if I ever see it, I'll phone the cops, they gave me the file #." And she told me what the truck looked like and I said: "I know that truck. I pass it every day and I always comment to my husband about it." I thanked her again, and hung up; turned to my co-worker and described the truck and she said: "I know that truck. The driver was just in here!" At that moment, Steven shows up (I had phoned him already, so he knew) I told him: "Good news, bad news. The plate isn't registered, but we know who it is." I told him, and he went up there right away. He looked at the truck, saw fresh scuff marks all over the tire, and the plate # that the woman had given us was 3405 and the plate on the truck was 3504. Bingo! (by the way, those aren't the real numbers.) So I phoned the RCMP again and told them, and I sent Steven home to get the camera and to go and take pix of the tire before the fellow cleaned it up, or left town. He returned to the vehicle's house, and it was gone! Needless to say, he's really annoyed at this point, because if we can't track the guy down, I have to pay my $300.00 deductible, plus I won't get a rental vehicle. So, as he is coming down to tell me this...he sees the truck! He pulls the fellow over and explains to him what happened, and tells him that it's a hit and run. The fellow says it wasn't him, and that he wasn't even at the store. So Steve throws his hands up and says: "Play it your way. There were 2 witnesses, and the store has you on surveillance camera, proving that you were there at the same time the witnesses say you were there, plus the cops are looking for you." So the fellow got scared and followed Steven back to the store. As we are chatting and he is swearing that he didn't know he hit me, the RCMP phones me back and says: "Just wanted to let you know that we have a lead on where the truck might be." I said: "Yes, it was me who phoned that in, and actually, you might want to come down here since my husband went and got him and they're all here now!" So, she came down and took everyone's statement and ticketed the fellow for leaving the scene ($396.00) and told him to be happy that Steven had found him and brought him down because if the RCMP had done it, he would have been ticketed with hit & run, which is much, much more expensive. So, ICBC will pay for a rental for me until such time as mine is fixed (which will be about 2 and half months) I get a vehicle the same standard as my own since I was insured for to and from work. I don;t have to pay any dectuctible at all (sometimes you have to pay it and then be reimbursed) and until I get a rental (umm..small town also has it's drawbacks, there aren't any right now, probably not for 2 days) but she told me to take a taxi wherever I needed to go and just bring the receipts down for her to reimburse me...right away, not through the mail or anything. Obviously I don't need to utilize that, Steven will just drive me to and from work for the next day or 2. But we couldn't do that for 2 and half months, I work a few night shifts a week and he can't be coming to get me at 11:15 at night all the time.
The damage is almost $5,000. The radiator, front grill, steel impact bar, lights, bumper, fender plus a myraid of other odds and ends all need to be fixed. What amazed the repair fellows was the fact that the impact bar was rippled. They said that takes a massive amount of force to do, which is why I think he must have known he hit me. I can see ripping a plastic grill with a huge truck and maybe not realizing it. Oh well, all's well that ends well. That's why we buy insurance.
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