"Hit" and run, what else can I do?

[wingsnthangs]

Yesterday afternoon (Saturday, ~2:30pm) some guy almost drove me off the road. Read my experience, i let my guard down, learn from my mistakes.

The Story
I was going southbound on a residential 2-lane road in San Diego, and I was in the left lane. As I was passing this white Toyota in the right lane, he started merging into my lane without using his turn signal. I braked hard but it was too late because he was merging pretty rapidly. I had to get closer to the center divider on my left to avoid a collision, and my driver front wheel hit the curb.

The guy pulled over, and I pulled over, ready to counter the "It's not my fault" argument this guy was probably gonna use. To my surprise, he was very apologetic, but sort of out of it. He could have been under the influence of something, but more likely, lost.

I got out of the car, came up to his window.
Me: What the heck, man?? You almost drove me off the damn road!
Guy: I'm sorry, I didn't see you. I didn't know what I was thinking. (at this point, i'm thinking he's alright, he's not gonna drive off)
Me: Well you came into my lane and I hit the curb so you wouldnt hit me. If I need an alignment or something, you're gonna have to take care of it.
Guy: Okay.
Me: I'm going to write down your plates for a second.
Guy: Okay.
(I get his plates and come back to his window)
Me: I'm going to go back to my car to get my insurance info so we can exchange.
Guy: Okay.
(I walk back to my car, guy drives off casually)

I was going to bolt after him, but there was a guy on the sidewalk who saw the whole thing, and he offered me his information. So after I get his info, i try to go after the Toyota guy, but he's long gone by now.

The Report
I call the police to report hit-and-run, but they said it isn't officially a hit-and-run unless there is visible damage to the car itself. My car sustained some pretty bad curb rash and suspension/alignment damage. The dispatcher said she's sending out an officer to talk to me. Four cops casually cruise by during my hour-long wait. Dispatcher assured me that "we havent forgot about you and an officer will come, we're just really busy with unexpected emergencies". This is in La Jolla, CA, on a Saturday afternoon. Thanks for nothing, SDPD.

I have an appointment later that day and cannot wait any longer (i've been waiting for over an hour just to talk to an officer), so I tell the dispatcher not to send an officer, but continue to look out for that car because he could be driving recklessly. For all i know, the dispatcher could've canceled my report. I call my insurance company and file a claim. I cannot help but feel like nothing constructive will happen. Sometimes I feel like I should have just let him hit me.

Cliffsnotes:
1. Reckless driver, i have a description of him, his car make/model (white Toyota Matrix), and his CA license plate number (ends in 524)
2. He fled the scene.
3. Not officially hit-and-run
4. Car sustained bad curb rash and alignment damage
5. In addition to my friend in the passenger seat, I have an eyewitness and his information
6. No police report because they didnt come
7. Filed insurance claim

What I learned:
-Be totally clear to the other driver when you talk to him. Say, "I am writing down your license plate number. If you flee the scene, I will call the police."
-Really get a physical description of the person as soon as you see him.
-Try to get his personal info or CA drivers license info as soon as you talk to him.
-Always think he might drive off.

Final questions
-Was my call the police useless?
-Should I call again to report a reckless driver instead of hit-and-run?
-Is there anything else I can do?
-With the information I have (car make/model/license#), how can I find out more about this guy?

Thanks for reading. I hope this frustrating situation doesnt happen to anyone.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

did you give the police his plate # or no. Id try that along with giving an offcer your full story. See what they tell you then

[wingsnthangs]

I held back no info from the police or my insurance company.

[91CRXsiR]

im 99.99999% sure ur screwed...

this is what u do.
get hit.
if the other car stops u stop.
if not then u chase and whip out ur camera phone and snap snap
then call police while chasing
and then follow instructions of the police

unless u do all of these things ur screwd cops dont really care about hit and runs unless its a MAJOR or there is loss of life

[citizen]

im 99.99999% sure ur screwed...

this is what u do.
get hit.
if the other car stops u stop.
if not then u chase and whip out ur camera phone and snap snap
then call police while chasing
and then follow instructions of the police

unless u do all of these things ur screwd cops dont really care about hit and runs unless its a MAJOR or there is loss of life

wrang! i had someone back up into my car outside the grocery store, i wrote down their license plate when they went down inside and they totally bruished me off when i was talking to them. basically it went like this:
"let me get you're info and i'll give you a call later after i decide what i want to do"
"too bad we're from the city and this happens all the time"
"apparently every other day, judging by the amount of scratches and gouges on your bumpers"
then they got in their car and sped off.
i flagged down a police and told them what happened and gave them the license plate, they looked up the registered owners and got back to me later that day with a line up of drivers, i chose the driver of that car. Anyways I got $650 from their insurance, when all i really wanted was an apology instead of being brushed off. Just goes to show that you shouldn't act like an asshole when you hit somebody's car. And the police can and will help, as long as you're not a douche sack either~

[santacruisin]

Just goes to show that you shouldn't act like an asshole when you hit somebody's car. And the police can and will help, as long as you're not a douche sack either~

Just make sure it doesn't happen in La Jolla.:hahano: The cops have already taken the role of douche sac there. In fact, isn't that part of CA the douche sac capital of the western U.S.? That's what my friend in Del Mar tells me

[L1ama]

You should of slowed own and done the pit manuver used by police, and do the hit and run yourself to people like this :sadwavey:

[NateKim]

I live in La Jolla and I have to admit, this is pretty close to Douche Sack capital of Cali. Irvine is pretty bad too.

[m072514]

what a jerk. in my experience, the cops can be very helpful if you approach them calmly and professionally. it also helps if you are not driving a car that screams NEED FOR SPEED UNDERGROUND!!! if you have a car that looks stock, and are willing to be cooperative with police, they can do the job that we pay them to.

[midnight zenki]

You could have done nothing else to cover your self. I had a similar situation in which the driver stopped and proceded to give me completley false information, the only exception was that I wrote down his plate number. I reported the incident to the police and my insurance company and got an estimate of the damage. Needles to say my Galant VR-4 was totaled and the cops were unable to track the plate down. About a week late my insurance company found the asshole and filed civil suit against him in order to recoup the money they paid to me due to my uninsured drivers coverage. The police are of no help due to the low priority of tracking down a traffic offender so I wouldn't count on them helping you at all, your insurance company sure as hell will hunt this bastard down because he just cost them money.

[wingsnthangs]

I went to the local police station this afternoon to report the reckless driver in person. To no surprise, they can't do anything about it since there was no car-car collision. And despite having 2 witnesses, I can't file a police report on reckless driving (apparently, too many of those idiots are out there driving around).

The officer was really nice about it, and said he would take down the car/driver information and if the guy lives in the area, they can intimidate him a little, but cannot take any real action. I left my contact information, and the officer said they'd give me a call if they talk to him or something. Realistically, nothing constructive will be done, but I got more closure out of this than the dispatcher leaving me hangin on Saturday.

As far as the damage goes, the alignment is a little off, but not significantly. I think I need new tires soon anyways. As for my wheel rash, the stock alloy wheel is cheap. I guess in the end, it's a small price to pay compared to dealing with court hassles.

Thinking back, I should have left my passenger with the witness to get his info while I chased down the Toyota. But as you all know, hindsight is 20/20.

Btw, my car is pretty much bone stock.

UPDATE:
I also closed/cancelled the case with my insurance company. Because there was no car-car collision, they could not further investigate his driving record and license plate. Whatever, it's over, idiot driver gets away, my premium stays the same, and I'm about $100 in the hole. That's life. Case closed.