How do i find a runaway car with little information?

Question

my mom just got into an accident. someone hit her and ran. she was only able to catch first 3 letters on the plate, and just the fact that it's an old convertible, beige car. the whitness went chasing after the car but never returned. i called the police and they said without the plate they cant do the report. well, the coverage is only liability, which means the insurance won't cover the cost of damage. i am trying to locate the car and i know there are websites for that. also what cars match the description. we're talking old cars (1980's). any ideas? ps: it all happened in NY

Answer 1

The police CAN do a report, they can just write it up as a hit and run. You can turn that into your insurance company. Call the police back and insist that they write up an accident report.

Answer 2

the police are right, there is not much they can do. Without a full plate it is impossible to search for the specific car that hit you. Even if you did find a match, it would be hard to prove becuase he would say "well how do they know it was me and not another car, they one had a partial plate". If you do find him and the damage is still there then it can help. What I would suggest is document the damage, exactly where it is on your car, how high the damage is, how long, other dimensions, etc. Take pics as well. Its a long shot but you can drive around the area where you were hit, if it is in a small town or residential area, there is a slight chance the person might live close. Sorry but it is a long shot, and there is no way to find him with a partial plate.