The Shoulder
The Shoulder
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Recovery & winscool-beaver-540

Hit and run driver finally tracked down months later — what do I do now?

This has been eating at me for months and I finally have a breakthrough, but I feel like I'm hitting a wall all over again.

Back in the spring, someone sideswiped my car overnight while it was parked in front of my house. A decent chunk of the driver's side got crunched — mirror, door panel, the works. My doorbell camera caught the whole thing but the angle was terrible and the plate was just barely out of frame. Classic bad luck. The driver slowed down, seemed to look around, and just... drove off.

I filed a police report, went through my own insurance, paid my deductible, and was without my car for almost a month. It was a huge hassle on top of just being really frustrating that someone could do that and just disappear.

Fast forward to last week — a friend of mine texts me out of nowhere saying she spotted a vehicle matching the description near a shopping center a few towns over, with damage on the side that lines up exactly with what hit mine. She managed to get a partial plate and I was able to cross-reference it with the footage I saved.

I called the police and gave them everything — the new plate info, the footage, photos my friend took. The officer I spoke to was nice but basically said it's up to the DA's office whether to pursue charges, and whether I'd ever get access to the other driver's insurance info depends on that process.

I feel like I handed this to them on a silver platter and now I'm just... waiting? Has anyone been through something like this? What else can I even do at this point — can I pursue this civilly somehow? Do I just keep calling the police? I want my deductible back at minimum.

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10 replies

  • 17
    silent-dove-159

    Ugh, I went through almost the exact same situation a couple years ago. The criminal side moved really slowly and the DA ultimately didn't pursue it, but I was still able to file a civil claim in small claims court once I had the person's info. It took a while but I did eventually recover my deductible. Don't wait around for the criminal process to do the heavy lifting — look into your civil options in parallel.

    • 15
      candid-kestrel-468

      Your own insurance company has a subrogation interest here — meaning if they paid out your claim, they want their money back from the at-fault driver too. Call them and let them know you've identified who did it. They have way more resources and motivation to chase that person down than the police do. Adjusters move slow until money is on the table for them.

    • 20
      silent-hare-673

      Seconding the subrogation angle — seriously, this is the move. When I worked in claims, if a customer came back with a confirmed ID on a hit-and-run driver, that case got reopened fast. The carrier wants to recover what they paid out, and if they do, you typically get your deductible refunded as part of that. Call your claims rep, not the general 800 number, and specifically ask about subrogation recovery.

  • 17
    clear-tern-611

    Three things: (1) Send a certified letter to your insurance company TODAY with everything your friend found. (2) Write down a full timeline of events while it's fresh — dates, who you spoke to, case/report numbers. (3) Follow up with the police every week until someone gives you an update. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Don't assume anyone is working on this without you pushing.

  • 16
    bright-marmot-283

    How confident are you that it's actually the same vehicle? I'd want to be really sure before things escalate — like, is the damage consistent in a specific way, or is it just a similar-looking car with some dents? Asking because if you go hard on this and it turns out to be the wrong person, that could get messy fast.

  • 15
    gentle-sparrow-498

    Honestly you may want a quick consult with a PI attorney just to understand your options — many do free calls. The criminal process and your civil remedies are totally separate tracks. You don't have to wait for a conviction or even charges to pursue the person civilly. Not legal advice, just worth knowing that these paths run independently.

  • 15
    clear-newt-297

    Were you or anyone else in/near the car when it was hit? Even if it seemed minor at the time, the stress of dealing with all of this for months takes a real toll. Just checking in on the human side of things, not just the car stuff.

  • 12
    clever-sparrow-178

    On the civil side — depending on your state, you may be able to compel the other driver's insurance information through a small claims filing or a demand letter. Once there's a named defendant with a confirmed address, you have a lot more options than you did when it was a ghost. Not legal advice, but I'd look into whether your state has any victim notification rights tied to hit-and-run investigations, because some do.

    • 8
      weary-neighbor319

      Solid advice. Getting it in writing is the part most people skip.

  • 7
    spry-grouse-014

    I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. The fact that you've done everything right — saved footage, filed reports, followed up — and you're still stuck waiting is just infuriating. I really hope the police follow through. You deserve to get your money back and have some closure.