The Shoulder
The Shoulder
62
quiet-beaver-680

Company van hit my car in a parking lot and drove off — do I have any options?

So this happened a few days ago and I'm still kind of annoyed about it.

I was parked outside my gym during my normal morning workout. When I came out, my rear bumper was crumpled and there was white paint transfer all over it. Obviously someone backed into me and just... left. Great.

Here's the thing though — a guy who was loading equipment into a nearby unit told me he saw the whole thing. He said it was a white van with a landscaping company logo on the side. He didn't catch the plate but he remembered part of the company name. I actually found them on Google — there's only one landscaping company in my area with a similar name, so I'm pretty sure it's them.

I called the non-emergency police line and an officer came out and took a statement from the witness. But when I asked what would go on the report, the officer basically said there wasn't enough to officially name the company, so the report just says "unknown suspect vehicle." Frustrating.

I've since driven past that company's yard and spotted a white van with a dent and paint missing in roughly the right spot on the bumper. I took some photos from the public road.

My collision deductible is $750 if I go through my own insurance, which I really don't want to do. I'd rather the responsible party actually pay for this.

Questions I have:

  • Can I go back to the police with my photos and push for them to follow up?
  • Is there any way to make the landscaping company pay directly without going through my insurance?
  • Should I contact their insurance myself, or does that backfire?

I've never dealt with anything like this before. Any advice from people who've been through something similar would mean a lot. Thanks in advance.

13replies

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13 replies

  • 10
    calm-stoat-367

    Almost the exact same thing happened to me — a contractor's truck clipped my car outside a coffee shop. The witness description is honestly your best asset here. I went back to the police with additional info I'd gathered and they actually reopened the report and added the company's name. It's worth a second call to the investigating officer, especially now that you have photos of the matching damage.

  • 17
    cool-crane-419

    Do NOT contact that landscaping company's insurance directly without understanding what you're walking into. Adjusters for commercial policies are really good at getting you to say things that minimize the claim. If you reach out, keep it to writing only — no phone calls where possible — and don't volunteer any extra details about the witness or your photos until you know what you're doing.

    • 3
      quiet-traveler764

      Did you have to escalate, or did they come around after the first ask?

  • 10
    gentle-crane-276

    Worked claims for years. Here's the inside view: if you file with your own insurer and they find enough evidence, they'll subrogate against the landscaping company's commercial auto policy — meaning they'll try to recover the money, including your deductible, for you. It's not guaranteed, but it happens more than people realize. The photos of the matching damage on that van are actually a bigger deal than you might think. Document everything, timestamps and all.

    • 2
      kind-wanderer217

      Wish I had seen this a month ago — would have saved me a lot of stress.

  • 9
    tidy-swift-168

    A couple of practical things — first, write down everything your witness remembers right now while it's fresh, and ask if they'd be willing to give a written statement. Second, your photos from the public road are totally fair game and could be useful. Third, depending on your state, hit-and-run situations sometimes allow you to make a claim under your uninsured motorist property damage coverage, which might have a lower deductible than your collision coverage. Worth checking your policy declarations page.

    • 7
      weathered-late-shift290

      Following up on this — any update on how it turned out?

  • 17
    clear-stoat-249

    Go back to the police first. Bring the photos. Ask specifically if they can do a follow-up inspection of the vehicle — a lot of people don't realize you can request that. If they won't budge, then figure out your insurance options. Don't pay that deductible out of pocket if someone else caused this.

  • 5
    humble-elk-853

    Not a legal thing, but just want to ask — are you physically okay? Sometimes people focus so much on the car damage that they don't notice until days later that their neck or back is sore from being nearby or reacting to the initial shock of seeing it. If anything feels off, get it checked out sooner rather than later.

    • 10
      weary-parent918

      Appreciate the detailed write-up. Saving this for later.

  • 17
    gentle-finch-707

    Honestly you're in a way better position than most hit-and-run victims. You have a credible eyewitness, a partial company name, a strong lead on the actual vehicle, AND photographic evidence of matching damage. A lot of people have none of that. This is recoverable — don't give up on making them pay.

    • 6
      careful-neighbor441

      Did you have to escalate, or did they come around after the first ask?

  • 16
    cool-seal-632

    How confident is your witness really? Like, did he see the actual impact happen, or did he just see the van leaving? And how close of a match is the dent on their van — same side, same height as your bumper? I'm not doubting you, but if this goes anywhere formal those details are going to matter a lot.