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        New Message Board Archives >> 2007 General Board Posts >> Hey....Policemen on our mb
        
(Message started by: 1stdonna on Aug 7^th, 2007, 8:05am)

Title: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by 1stdonna on Aug 7^th, 2007, 8:05am

I am desperate for help with this!

How can I find the name and phone number of the witness that I was kept from when I/we had a car crash? She lives in New Jersey and is probably back there by now.

The officer would not allow me to talk to her.....she was from a crash that happened just a couple of minutes before mine. He told me that my witness couldn't help me anyway as she was leaving to go back to New Jersey the next morning.

The woman who hit me was behind the first accident and couldn't wait in the stopped lane any longer and just pulled out and into my left passanger door and rear flank. She was in the rignt lane.....I was in the left and moving.

We were all told to move on to a parking lot where I happened to see the woman from the first accident. I asked her if she saw my accident and she said yes and would be my witness.

The officer told me I could not talk to her because there was an injury in her car(?). When I told him that she was going to follow the ambulance and I would lose her, he told me to get back in my car or he would take me to jail.

I went to the Sheriff's office the next morning, talked to his superior officer..asking for this woman's phone number. He said he couldn't give it to me as it is against the new privacy law.

I called the clerk of courts office and asked if they would give it to me and again was refused. The gal did find the first accident report tho when I gave her my citation number. Get this.....the first accident was recorded as happening at 4:00 pm, and mine at 3:54.

There's a lot more.....I was threatened with jail 4 times when just quietly trying to give my side of the story, etc.

I know that the woman who hit me used her cell phone, and her witness appeared about 15-20 minutes later.

Right now I really need to know if there is a way to find my witness. Isn't such information a matter of public record?

I know I need a lawyer but can't afford one. I called everybody imaginable...from Legal Aid to AARP.

I am contesting the ticket, but without a witness, I don't think I have much chance of winning.

This knot in my stomach won't go away tho unless I protest this whole lie. If I lose it will cost me $500.00 plus court costs and my insurance premium is going to go up $78.00 per month.

Thanks for any advice. If you want to talk by phone, pm me.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by Maffumatt on Aug 7^th, 2007, 8:20am

It doesn't sound right to me Donna, get a lawyer.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by 1stdonna on Aug 7^th, 2007, 8:47am

I can't afford a lawyer.

Looks like I'm going to have to just give up.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by nani on Aug 7^th, 2007, 9:32am

Donna, all accident reports are public records. Find out where you pick them up, and you can request one. All you need is the date and location of the accident.
That's the way it is in NM, anyway.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by 1stdonna on Aug 7^th, 2007, 9:35am

the superior officer (I don't know his rank) told me that since the witness wasn't in MY accident, I could not get any information....period!

The woman who hit me comes from a prominent and wealthy family here and uses two other last names. I found this out on the internet.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by Guiseppi on Aug 7^th, 2007, 10:34am

I don't know Florida law, but here is how you would do it here in California. When you go to contest the ticket, here in California, you are entitled to have subpoenas issued for your case. Request a subpoena for records, also called a subpoena duces tecum, (spelling?) specifically requesting that witnesses information. That's only the first part of your battle.

Assuming you do locate her, you will need to get her to appear at your court trial. Unlike TV, you can't use signed affidavits or recorded testimony as the opposing side has to have the opportunity to cross examine the witness.

If you got shat upon by the police as you say, I apologize. To say their behavior was unprofessional of course is an understatement. If she is as wealthy and influential as you say, well politics in that area are what they are. Be careful.

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by 1stdonna on Aug 7^th, 2007, 2:35pm

Thank you Guiseppi. I know that it only takes one to taint the image of many.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by deltadarlin on Aug 7^th, 2007, 5:38pm

Donna,
Was your wreck anywhere near an intersection or stoplight? The reason I ask, is that, at least in our town, there are cameras up on most intersections. If there is a camera there, you might be able to get a copy or at least view it with someone else present.

Also, you might want to ask around about an attorney. You might be surprised that some would talk to you, because if you can prove that you were *right* and the other party was *wrong*, then the other party will pay for your attorney (and depending on how the wind blows, you might have grounds for damages to *yourself*~the stress alone can disable a person).

Carolyn

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by BlueMeanie on Aug 7^th, 2007, 9:43pm

Unfortunately, even if you found this person, I doubt your gonna get them to come all the way back to Florida on your behalf. :(

Can you take a picture of the area where you where and a picture of the side of the car that got hit. It sounds like anyone with a picture can see the other person hit YOU, not you hitting them so anyone can see it's the other person's fault. Insurance companies do not want to pay either, so they may help in your defense so the other person's insurance company will have to pay and not yours.

Good luck to you.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by Jonny on Aug 7^th, 2007, 10:03pm

Sorry Donna, but it looks like im the only one gonna say it.

Your screwed and thats polite!

Sorry, hun

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by sldrswyfe on Aug 7^th, 2007, 10:16pm

You got that right Jonny. Welcome to Florida "Come down on vacation, go home on probation"...

makes me glad I no longer live there and am no longer subjected to that type of treatment. The law and the officers are VERY DIFFERENT here in PA...thank God.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by BMoneeTheMoneeMan on Aug 7^th, 2007, 10:28pm

The mean one brings up a good point, Donna. The insurance companies do not like to pay claims. Granted, you said the damages are less than $5k, but if you say this woman is defrauding your insurance company, they might get their attorneys involved.

If you can get the insurance company to send their investigator out to determine who-hit-who based on the damages from your car, they would back you. That would add weight to your side of the story which is that the woman is a liar and the cop is inept.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by sldrswyfe on Aug 7^th, 2007, 10:45pm

B,

That is a great point...but so difficult to get to happen.

Have you ever dealt with law enforcement in the state of Florida?? Fhew...are they tough. I got hit by a car, had TWO witness that saw it from both sides...we even had the ladies liscense plate number that hit me.

I was half hysterical telling the officer to "do something"...they did...uh...nothing. She, I guess, fled the scene...Im no expert when it comes to law and the terms... I sued her. The only thing that happened was she got dropped from her insurance co. I believe...it was a hell of alot of work, took forever for really nothing to come of it.

One of the witnesses was absolutely furious that this lady got away with it...she had a tendency to be a careless driver all of the time. Never the less, the lady got away with injuring someone (me) and fleeing the scene....and didn't lose her priviledge of driving...nothing.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by BMoneeTheMoneeMan on Aug 7^th, 2007, 11:08pm

on 08/07/07 at 22:45:41, sldrswyfe wrote:

B,

That is a great point...but so difficult to get to happen.

It is difficult to get to happen, but its worth a shot. Insurance companies do investigate fraud, but if this fraud will only get them for $5k, they might just let it slide anyway.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by 1stdonna on Aug 7^th, 2007, 11:49pm

I called the local newspaper today and asked what was public record and what was not. I was advised to call the Official Records office at the county administration office..to make a long and frustrating story short, I got the accident report which my witness was involved in. I called her number (from the report) and it was the wrong number! The officer wrote down the wrong number! It was a cell phone that belonged to someone who has never heard of my witness. I called information and found that my witness has an unpublished number.

I called the other two car owners involved in the accident and both said that they were too shocked with their own situation to have noticed mine. The lady who rear-ended the two cars in front of her was going 45 mph and never hit the brakes. She is 91 yrs. old and still has her drivers license. Dear God!

I talked to my insurance company today. They have a written statement from the lady who hit me stating she and her witnesses side of of the story.

They are not sending an investigator out since I got an estimate from one of the repair shops that they (the insurance company) told me to use, who took multiple pictures. Their claims adjuster is going to make a decision based on the facts presented.

The police determined that the damage to my car could have happened either the way I explained it, or the way woman who hit me explained it. Not so, in my opinion. You can see that I was moving in a straight, forward direction and then the big crunch right in the middle. It was on the last quarter of my car, which I think proves that I was in a committed position and probably in her blind spot.

I think Jonny's right.....I'm most likely screwed. It just kills me to be right and be lied about and found guilty.

I'll call an attorney tomorrow to see if they'll do what Carolyn suggested. I just don't think there's enough money involved here for them to want to get involved.

Thank you all for the input.

Title: Re: Hey....Policemen on our mb
Post by sailpappy on Aug 8^th, 2007, 7:28am

;;D ;;D Ms. Donna,
I had a very similar incident in Naples, I was out sailing, bad weather day and not many boats on the water, I was under full sail when a local Naples policeman passed me, 2 hours later he stopped me in the Bay and said that I had impeded him earlier and wrote me a ticket, In court he just out right lied and I ended up paying $100.00 instead of taking it to appeals court. He was clearly wrong and if the judge had known maritime law it would have been thrown out. Instead I was found guilty, based on the officers statements and given the chance to appeal, that meant going to the appeals court in Daytona and spending money on an attorney, plus the expenses of my wittnesses.
It was cheaper to just pay the $100 fine and be done with it.
Later the officer involved was found to have a vendeta against me and had been telling people at the city dock he was going to bust me. He ended up getting retired early and a week later got ticketed by his cronies on the water in Marco Island for speeding in a manatee zone! Poetic Justice! John