A couple weeks ago, my mom was involved in a hit and run accident. Thankfully she was unhurt other than some scrapes and bruises and and achy back, but her car was totalled. Some guy in a pickup rear-ended her while she was stopped in traffic, and he drove off. A good samaritan followed the truck and got a description plus the tag number. My mom got a letter in the mail yesterday indicating that TPD was closing the case and not pursuing locating the guy. I respect that they have a ton of these cases to work on, but if someone has a tag number, that seems to be relatively low-hanging fruit, wouldn't you imagine?
So be advised that if you ever get involved in an auto accident that is your fault in Tulsa, and you lack a conscience, just drive off and you'll be home free!
quote:
Originally posted by flybriz
A couple weeks ago, my mom was involved in a hit and run accident. Thankfully she was unhurt other than some scrapes and bruises and and achy back, but her car was totalled. Some guy in a pickup rear-ended her while she was stopped in traffic, and he drove off. A good samaritan followed the truck and got a description plus the tag number. My mom got a letter in the mail yesterday indicating that TPD was closing the case and not pursuing locating the guy. I respect that they have a ton of these cases to work on, but if someone has a tag number, that seems to be relatively low-hanging fruit, wouldn't you imagine?
So be advised that if you ever get involved in an auto accident that is your fault in Tulsa, and you lack a conscience, just drive off and you'll be home free!
Sounds like the future home for Richard Novak!
It's that traitor ROBERT Novack.....but you are correct.
See that political thread on a special kind of stupid. the link is there.....
That neo con nut job is on record as saying he would intentionally run over a jaywalker. He said that drives him crazy. Well, this time he was true to his word.
Si!
quote:
Originally posted by flybriz
...A good samaritan followed the truck and got a description plus the tag number. My mom got a letter in the mail yesterday indicating that TPD was closing the case and not pursuing locating the guy...
No offense, but that is so outrageous I actually have a hard time believing its truthiness.
There are about 250 hit and runs in Tulsa every month and many get solved and prosecuted.
Having a tag number MIGHT get you to the car IF the car is still registered to the CURRENT owner. Too often, cars have been traded in to a dealer and been bought and sold over and over again between used car dealers and auction houses, then sold to some individual who has never re-registered the car.
The second part you need for prosecution is a witness who can put someone behind the wheel. You can't prosecute the car, you have to prosecute the driver. If no one can testify that they can identify a driver, then there is no case to prosecute.
I would avoid the advise to drive off from a wreck. When you are prosecuted, it's very expensive.
quote:
Originally posted by Wilbur
There are about 250 hit and runs in Tulsa every month and many get solved and prosecuted.
Having a tag number MIGHT get you to the car IF the car is still registered to the CURRENT owner. Too often, cars have been traded in to a dealer and been bought and sold over and over again between used car dealers and auction houses, then sold to some individual who has never re-registered the car.
The second part you need for prosecution is a witness who can put someone behind the wheel. You can't prosecute the car, you have to prosecute the driver. If no one can testify that they can identify a driver, then there is no case to prosecute.
I would avoid the advise to drive off from a wreck. When you are prosecuted, it's very expensive.
But as you said , if no one can id you then whats the problem?
Our DA wouldn't want to chance a possible loss against his record.
If you don't own anything, you don't need insurance either. A friend of mine was hit by an uninsured motorist (several years ago) and since the other party didn't own anything, no one was interested in prosecuting. Not the police, not the DA, no one. The hitter never suffered any financial responsibility except the loss of his own car. My friend had to pay to fix his car.
quote:
Originally posted by Wilbur
There are about 250 hit and runs in Tulsa every month and many get solved and prosecuted.
Having a tag number MIGHT get you to the car IF the car is still registered to the CURRENT owner. Too often, cars have been traded in to a dealer and been bought and sold over and over again between used car dealers and auction houses, then sold to some individual who has never re-registered the car.
This is why when you sell a car, you should always remove the license plate and either keep or destroy it.
quote:
Originally posted by Red Arrow
If you don't own anything, you don't need insurance either. A friend of mine was hit by an uninsured motorist (several years ago) and since the other party didn't own anything, no one was interested in prosecuting. Not the police, not the DA, no one. The hitter never suffered any financial responsibility except the loss of his own car. My friend had to pay to fix his car.
The driver of the car is responsible for everything on that car, even if they are not the owner. Insurance is included in that responsibility. Because you don't own anything has nothing to do with the requirement of insurance.
Probably the biggest offenders of this are people who test drive new cars. The car salesmen never put a temporary tag on the car and don't carry their fleet coverage insurance, then start driving around. The test driver is responsible for the tag and insurance. When you go test drive a car, tell the salesman you need a temporary tag.
quote:
Originally posted by MDepr2007
quote:
Originally posted by Wilbur
There are about 250 hit and runs in Tulsa every month and many get solved and prosecuted.
Having a tag number MIGHT get you to the car IF the car is still registered to the CURRENT owner. Too often, cars have been traded in to a dealer and been bought and sold over and over again between used car dealers and auction houses, then sold to some individual who has never re-registered the car.
The second part you need for prosecution is a witness who can put someone behind the wheel. You can't prosecute the car, you have to prosecute the driver. If no one can testify that they can identify a driver, then there is no case to prosecute.
I would avoid the advise to drive off from a wreck. When you are prosecuted, it's very expensive.
But as you said , if no one can id you then whats the problem?
Our DA wouldn't want to chance a possible loss against his record.
Hey.... knock yourself out. Take your chances. Many people do and end up in court. Good luck.
See Briz, you thought you and yer mama were special, like snowflakes. But 250 times a month Tulsans are subjected to getting their car totalled and there is NOTHING anyone can do. Suck it up. Ya'll heard the man, good luck trying to get anyone to give a rats arse because unless you can do better than a vehicle description and a tag The Man is as helpless as a turtle on its back. About 3000 folks' cars are totalled annually, eight a day. Waaaaayyyy too many to check up on.
Like when that creep killed the ten year old and there was a vehicle description and one was found a quarter mile away from where the body was dumped. Even though the guy had a bench warrant and looked like lurch on crack, there were sooooo many matching vehicles the ossifers who 'interviewed' him just . . . walked . . . away. Not even a call to check criminal status. Just too many doughnuts, not enough time . . .
That accident could of been a illegal alien driving. The Tulsa police looked into it and closed the book because nothing can be done then. That is why car insurance is so expensive in Tulsa. Meanwhile I see that BA police are having their first ever night time seat belt check point, while crime skyrockets and hit & runs are all over the Tulsa metro area the cops worry about seat belts- What a waste of manpower.[xx(]
yup, its tough trying to find time for violent crimes with all the speeders that must be brought to justice!
Nice first post, T Hall.
yeah, i guess i lurked around long enough here that I actually thought I'd posted before... hmmm.
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Originally posted by tulsavw
yup, its tough trying to find time for violent crimes with all the speeders that must be brought to justice!
Yea. I know what you mean. Never mind people lose more property through wrecks then all other crimes combined 10 fold. Never mind 3 times more people get killed in collisions then are murdered.
Police got better things to do.
quote:
Originally posted by tulsavw
yup, its tough trying to find time for violent crimes with all the speeders that must be brought to justice!
There are a lot of criminals brought down because of speeding. Then they get back out too soon because of the liberal thinking law makers in this State. Including ex TPD officer Lucky Lamons
quote:
Originally posted by MDepr2007
quote:
Originally posted by tulsavw
yup, its tough trying to find time for violent crimes with all the speeders that must be brought to justice!
There are a lot of criminals brought down because of speeding. Then they get back out too soon because of the liberal thinking law makers in this State. Including ex TPD officer Lucky Lamons
Care to back that up?
quote:
Originally posted by MDepr2007
quote:
Originally posted by tulsavw
yup, its tough trying to find time for violent crimes with all the speeders that must be brought to justice!
There are a lot of criminals brought down because of speeding. Then they get back out too soon because of the liberal thinking law makers in this State. Including ex TPD officer Lucky Lamons
Look at the nearest window as you read this....
See that flying out of the window? It's your credibility.
quote:
Originally posted by Wilbur
Yea. I know what you mean. Never mind people lose more property through wrecks then all other crimes combined 10 fold. Never mind 3 times more people get killed in collisions then are murdered.
Police got better things to do.
Sooooo when a dude basically almost kills someone, maybe high on crack or crunk, and there is a tag and vehicle description and the area of town the suspect fled, what could be more important? And to think this happens eight times a day, 250 times a month, about 3000 times evidence like a tag and vehicle ID are gathered and unused in our fair town. Strange days indeed!
What is the point of enforcing traffic laws then? If the point is to head off a tragedy before it occurs I would think that once a hit-and-run accident has occurred finding that perp should take a
higher priority than hustling commuters for a ticket.
Do we need to ratchet up the penalty or start paying individual ossifers cash for catching people? Both?
Sorry everyone, didn't mean to throw a topic out there and then duck out for four days. Kinda like a forum version of a hit and run, don't you think? [:D]
The idea of an illegal alien being the hit and run driver is certainly a reasonable theory - that and no insurance. Certainly would prompt certain individuals to get away as fast as possible.
And thank you for understanding the sarcasm in my comment about condoning hit and runs.
I know that hit and runs are a dime a dozen - and believe me we're all very thankful that all that was ruined was a car. It could have been way worse - and is for many people. I guess I thought that having a tag number would have been a magic bullet. After reading your posts, I see now that it's really meaningless. I will say though on a side note, I'm selling my house and a title issue came up last week - Some lady's name I'd never heard of was on the title due to a clerical error. The title company said it would take a few days to find her, but in one evening on the interweb I found her new married name, her address in Missouri, her home phone number, her cell phone number, and spoke to her in person while she was on vacation in Chicago. I was able to get all of this info from people search websites starting only with her first and last name, and my current home address as a reference point (even though she's never lived here). I guess if I would have had her tag number instead it would have been an improbable search. Viva la informacion!
How pathetic we are. Talk about lowering the bar! All the lame excuses. 'Probably a Mexcan, anyway.' 'Couldn't prove it, anyway.' ' These things happen all the time.' 'Could've been worse.' 'We are too busy.' What absolute unmitigated bullcrap. Unacceptable. Frightening to see the Slide Toward Hell greased so quickly and efficiently by such apathy.
Your mother might try running the tag number through OTC for registered owner and also pursuing through OPS, ultimately it "might" (should) from a insuance prospective
Her insurance agent might (should anyway) be helpful in locating the drive away driver, they have day to day access and familarity with the system
The system is far from perfect and just *****ing about don't help anyone
I would hope they at least looked into it. If it was not the low-hanging fruit that we think it is, I could understand not spending more time on it. Perhaps this all (the discussion) could have been avoided with a bit of detail in the letter (after a precursory review the tags do not match the car, therefor the lead is of little value... or something).
BUT, I will back up the fact that many criminals are brought down because of simple traffic violations. Most criminals act nervous or flat out try to run when being pulled over by the police. Probably 50% of the drug busts and outstanding warrants are filled by traffic stops. Don't you people ever watch cops. [;)]
- - -
Side story:
When I first moved to Tulsa I was exiting the BA at Harvard. I saw a red pickup run the light and plow into a the rear quarter panel of a Civic. The bumper fell of the truck, glass shatter, the whole works. It was a hard hit.
After a moment, the red truck sped away. Instinct kicked in and I tried to get the plate. He accelerated into the neighborhood towards ~25th and Marion. In my stupidity I followed (overzealous). There is a dead end back in there, which he went into. I stopped behind him, he hopped out and ran away on foot - the truck (still running) idled forward into a post at the dead end.
I had a neighbor (who was looking on with "pancakes" all over his face) call 911.
The cops came and questioned/chastised me. When they searched the truck they found a room key to a hotel. When the search on the plates came back, it was a stolen truck.
I told the cops about the accident, they said it had not been reported. I had to affirm that there indeed WAS an accident. A cop followed me to the intersection which was still strewn with glass and various car parts; we pulled into the funeral home lot and there sat the Civic. All banged up.
Clearly thinking it was strange to be hit and not reported/sticking around they called in that car's plates. It didn't belong to that car. They called in the VIN and the car had been reported stolen.
What are the odds?
(for those in the know, yes. That was the same intersection I got shot at. Very strange)
Chuck - Good idea. We may do some investigation on our own. Time and my attention span have both been at a record low this month with selling and buying a house, my wife's job in jeopardy at SemGroup, and some other recent events. The insurance company received the info about the truck too. They seemed disinterested. They just wrote a check to total the car and closed the books.
Cannon, agreed too that more detail in the TPD letter could put this situation in a different light. I'll grab a scan of it next time I'm over there but over the phone it sounded very terse with zero detail on the nature of the case closing.
quote:
Originally posted by Chuck-Davis
Your mother might try running the tag number through OTC for registered owner and also pursuing through OPS, ultimately it "might" (should) from a insuance prospective
Her insurance agent might (should anyway) be helpful in locating the drive away driver, they have day to day access and familarity with the system
The system is far from perfect and just *****ing about don't help anyone
If you file a claim with your insurance company, your insurance company then has permission to run the tag number and go after the OWNER in order to fix your car. Since insurance goes with the car and not the driver, it won't matter who was driving, it's the car's insurance who fixes your car.
Remember, two different things at work here. Police have to identify a driver in order to prosecute the criminal side. Your insurance company only has to go after the insurance to get your car fixed for the civil side.
quote:
Originally posted by flybriz
Chuck - Good idea. We may do some investigation on our own. Time and my attention span have both been at a record low this month with selling and buying a house, my wife's job in jeopardy at SemGroup, and some other recent events. The insurance company received the info about the truck too. They seemed disinterested. They just wrote a check to total the car and closed the books.
Cannon, agreed too that more detail in the TPD letter could put this situation in a different light. I'll grab a scan of it next time I'm over there but over the phone it sounded very terse with zero detail on the nature of the case closing.
Yeah well let this be a lesson to you before you go popping off with some unwarranted negative yapping about T-town! SHAME on you! EVERYONE knows the correct answer is 'Mom, SOMEONE says they got a tag number and a vehicle ID. 250 cars are totalled like yours EVERY MONTH in town and in EVERY CASE they have a tag and vehicle ID. It was probably a penniless illegal Mexcan anyway, and besides, you did not die did you? Yeah, a terse letter? Mom, what did you want, flowers?'
quote:
...250 cars are totalled like yours EVERY MONTH in town and in EVERY CASE they have a tag and vehicle ID....
Wrong! Unless you'd like to post your source.
I realize facts shouldn't get in the way of a great conspiracy theory.
Extremely few result in totaled cars. If there is enough energy to total one car, it will normally result in just as much damage to the other car, preventing it from leaving the scene.
Many hit and runs are minor scratches in parking lots with no witnesses. The only thing to go on is the paint color left by the paint transfer.
Most with tag numbers get solved and prosecuted, but not all.
Lemme see, where did I put that conspiracy theory . . . hmmm . . . nope can not find it.
I was just busting chops on your initial statement. Sounded like you meant Briz's mum's deal was the sort of thing that happens everyday when to most it seemed fairly unusual. Sort of like saying in response to the baby-labrador situation 'dog bites happen all the time' to the family.