I witnessed an automobile accident and called 911 and reported it immediately please read details)?

Question

I witnessedarear end collision right in front of me.The car in front of me rearended the car in front of them at around30 MPHThere really wasn't any breaking involded at alland I called 911 and reported it immediately as soon as I swerved to my left to avoid running into the back of the car in front of me and got to a parkinglot really close by. Then 7 days later I receive a letter in the mailtelling me that I was involved in a car accident and that I need to contact them Immediately.I was clueless at that point and I told them that there must have been some kind of clericalerror because I wasn't involved and I shouldn't have got that letter. Then my insurance guy asked me how company X got my licence plate #.Then it hit me what had happened. The person behind me wrote down my licence plate # and told me I probably run into the car in front of me, but it doesn't make any sense.If I hit the car in front of me there would obviously be damage to the back of the car andthe frontofmytruck.

I was just wondering if this happened to anyone else. The lady that was behind that wrote my licence plate # down didn't even witness the accent so I down understand what's going on.

The lady that was behind my wrote my plate # down 2 miles before the accent because she told the insurance company that she thought I was driving iradically.

I told my agent exacty what happened and he had a guy come out and take pictures of the front of my truck. It’s pretty sad, the whole reason I called 911 because I was trying to be a Good Samaritan and I didn’t know if the people involved in the accident had cell phones. I think I will drop my insurance company after this mess is over.

To: MSAD and oklaham,
I'm probably not going to drop my insurance company, I'm just frustrated with the whole situation.

Answer 1

These things are actually quite common. Don't worry about it, just give the insurance companies time. They will sort it out.

Answer 2

You're going to drop your insurance after this is over? Why? Because they asked you what happened when someone told them you were in an accident? That makes absolutely no sense.

The 911 call will be available on tape, tell your insurance company to get a copy of it and listen to it, and tell them you were a witness, not involved.

What would you prefer your insurance do, just pay out when ever anyone says you caused damage, ignore it, or ask you?

If they have looked at your car, and there is no damage, that will be the end of it.

Again, why are you mad at your insurance for doing what they should be doing, investigating a claim?

Answer 3

OK....before you rush off and drop your insurance company, here's something to consider...

The reason you got a letter for your insurance company claim department is because some one reported a claim against your policy - IE they said you were responsible for the damage to their car and want your insurance company to pay them. Claims are not set up by 911 or by police departments.

Now - wouldn't you rather your insurance company contact you to ask you about what happened before they go running off paying people under your policy?

Your company did the responsible thing by contacting you to find out your version of events and by photographing your vehicle to show no damage. They will do a full investigation because if whomever reported the claim against your policy tries to sue you - your insurance company will need to have done a full investigation to defend you from the law suit.

Since you called 911 - see if your adjuster has contacted the 911 of the county where the accident is - for a fee, the insurance company may be able to get a copy of the 911 call. A lot of young adjuster's may not know that and may not know how to go about getting a copy. That could be a very valuable tool in defending you and it would support your claim that you were a witness not a participant in the accident.

Also - the driver that did the rear ending my be taking responsibility - or he may be a dishonest person and looking for someone else to place the blame on (namely you - claiming that the only reason he hit the car in front of him is because you hit him first).

Did the police contact you and get a statement from you about what happened? Are you listed on the police report as being involved in the accident? If you know the location, date and drivers involved in the accident -you can get a copy of the police report. If you insurance company has gotten a copy of it - most likely they will be willing to mail you a copy to review as well.

The wrong thing for your company to have done is to have done no investigation at all and just paid the other person.

I have had similar claims - where someone trying to be a good Samaritan writes down a wrong tag number -after doing a complete investigation I am usually able to determine that our policyholders car was not involved and deny the claims made against the policy. Since I have done a good investigation I can support my denial and if (on the small chance) a law suit gets filed - I can provide good information to help defend my policyholder.

Cooperate fully with your insurance company - tell them what you saw and about your call to 911. If you want to, contact the county 911 see if you can get a copy of the 911 call yourself. If you do, provide a copy of it to your insurance company. Adjuster's don't mind when folks want to work with us and help us out. It's OK to ask the adjuster to let you know what they decide regarding liability and for you to call every so often just to touch base.

Answer 4

So the lady is basically claiming that she was a witness to an accident involving you and the car in front of you, an accident that never happened?

Isn't that illegal? If you had to pay your insurance company for an accident that never happened, shouldn't you be able to sue that lady for slandering you?

Answer 5

My-oh-my..... when are you going to learn! "NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED"

Don't worry about it, the insurance investigators have already taken pictures of the front of your vehicle and the back of the other car. I'd be surprised if the car that hit the other one has even said that they were rear ended by you.

And, put down the damn cell phone when you drive and other drivers won't report you for driving erratically.

Answer 6

"Then 7 days later I receive a letter in the mailtelling me......."
Who did you get the letter from ? The police ?, an insurance company ? Who's insurance company ?

Answer 7

What's the question? Contact that insurance company, give them a statement about what happened.

Answer 8

maybe try to remember what happened that day as much as possible and put it in writing so you wont forget.let your insurance know also.Get some ideas of what you can do to clear yourself.Also keep the record on your phone so you have some evidence that you called 911 to report,they might extract the call for clarification

Answer 9

The first thing that I would do is go down and talk to my insurance agent and tell him or her what had happened and try to get them to help you out of that situation. If that failed I would find a lawyer to represent me and when I got it straightened out and it was settled, I would go and find another insurance company and agent and drop the agent and company who did not help me.