Minor Drove our car off the Road--in TN?

Question

My daughter (she is 16) was in Tennessee and was driving my car (We are from MS, she is insured to drive it as well, though). She allowed one of her guy friends, who is 16 as well and lives in Arizona, to drive my car, and he ran it off the road and into a forrest going about 70 or 80 mph going around a curve she told me (It was still drivable however, and the cops never came and filed anything, It was about 2am and they were heading back to our house we had rented in TN). There is about $3000 worth of damage done to my car, and I was wondering if the boy driving my car would be held responsible for the damages? Oh, and we don't want to turn it into our Insurance because if we do they will probably drop us (the car was in a wreck in 2006).
Thanks

Oh, and also, she tells me the boy had been drinking.

Answer 1

The cost of recovering this from the kid is probably prohibitive, since it's interstate. His liability is debatable, since he drove the car with the permission of an authorized driver.

Novel suggestion: Hold your daughter responsible for what happened to the car while in her charge. Paying you back the $3,000 will teach her the importance of respecting others' property, while saving you the cost of attorney fees.

Answer 2

This will be a civil case. Your daughter allowed him to drive the car but he should still be responsible for damages. Without a police report or other documentation, you will need to make a case for court. This could get real sticky since many licences for 16 year olds are restricted to certain hours (2 A.M. is not included) and it's possible that you are responsible for letting her drive the car at that time. I don;t know MS. driver laws.

Answer 3

You can file a small claims case, however your daughter may be responsible in part or in full as she granted permission to an unliscnese, un insured driver to operate a motor vehicle.