Stupid Human Tricks

Unfortunately, this isn't about the gimmicky stunts that people pull for video entertainment. This involves a collision outside of my house last week that is one headache after another...

Two young girls (with a male special-needs passenger in the back that I didn't see) slammed into my dad's car that was parked in front of our house, hard enough that it pushed the car a few feet and slammed into his other car behind it. At the moment of impact, I was looking out the window at it and immediately yelled to my dad the license plate number in case they tried to flee. The car they were in was clearly totaled in the front where it hit the driver's side front of my dad's car. I saw the girls get out as my dad and sister went out there.

Now, first off, the girl in the passenger seat said that she was driving; likely because she disclosed that the car was in her dad's name, although she said she only had driving privileges but no license. So it was already fishy from the first. That girl got into the car and promised she wasn't leaving, dropping off her male passenger at the house up the street then driving back down.

The neighbors were out, discussing what they saw or heard and pictures were taken, including the skid mark on the street caused by their car. She said that her brakes locked up but when her father had come and tested the car, they were working fine. I'm no expert but the skid prior to the crash seems to indicate that the brake was applied, and the angle itself shows both speed and a turn that never would have made it anywhere near our driveway to turn there.

Their insurance company, All State, sent a young representative this week that not only claimed that the girl was backing out of the neighbor's driveway (to try to explain the skid angle) but that she was only going 10 mph, which never would have pushed the car, nor explained the heavy damage to her car's front end, nor the crush and angle of the push. As I said, I saw the moment of impact and it was clearly a front end collision and a loud one at that. She had to be going at least 40 mph.

So, because of the layers of bull piled onto this one, my dad will have to go to court to contest the claim for only 'minor damage'. The inspection doesn't even mention the severe damage to the frame or the fact that the passenger side window was jarred so that the automatic window no longer works. He'll also have to obtain the original police reports and likely inconvenience our neighbors because of these people's dishonesty.

I try not to parrot the cynical statement that people suck, but in this case, it's applicable. That people have no qualms about lying or changing their story to avoid blame is sickening. That they believe that people can't or won't pursue a case so they can get off scot-free is nothing short of deplorable. The justice system is too often placing the burdens on the innocent rather than placing the suspicion with the victims. I'd expect as much from insurance companies but the way the girl kept changing her story and honestly didn't have the decency to look upset or sorry; that is what bothers me most.

This is the direction of a country my nephews will grow up in. This is the loss of honor and accountability that they have to defend themselves against. I hope that justice will prevail here, but let's be honest; can we really be so optimistic in a world where it's more common for people to lose all sense of decency to protect their own too-fragile egos?

I have friends who are cops. I work around lawyers and cops and judges sometimes. I don't think the employees of the justice system are all corrupt or useless. That needs to be said. These people have to deal with this crap all the time and I commend the ones who are still noble and true public servants. Hopefully, they will be able to help my dad's case as well. I want to be able to say that the justice system can make up for the sheer number of garbage people trying to abuse it.