They finally did it, they killed my Tacoma

Stupid people. Unfortunately they live amongst us…

 

Those cops ARE assholes. I'd write a formal complaint to the Chief at the least for their failure to follow [I'd bet it is] proscribed procedures. If you can find ANY connection between them and the perp I'd burn them down if possible. [figuratively]

Hopefully you have full coverage and you need to get your insurance company involved immediately if you haven't done so.

 

You need to get the state of New Jersey in on this. I don’t know if it’s the attorney general’s office you need to contact or who it might be, but your local police department is accessory to the crime at this point, and I suspect the county isn’t far enough removed from the municipality to be objective.

 

Also, when an attorney is involved, insurance companies pay — it’s cheaper for them than trying to litigate.

Don’t underestimate the value or your time, inconvenience, and extraneous costs such as car rental, repairing your yard and property, legal costs. Make a spreadsheet or similar document, and include everything. The kid will be insured for a given amount, and you may be able to obtain that amount by asking for more going in and letting them negotiate you back to his level of coverage. Your attorney will be very familiar with this.

 

i would plaster this [and all the evidence] all over social media, every bit of social media
tag the parents, tag the police department, tag the state police, tag anyone who is even remotely related and the state/local news peeps
i would actually make a facebook account to do all of this [i don't use facebook so . . . ]

 

The only advice I have is to not take the insurance companies first offer. They always leave a few thousand on the table hoping you take the lowball offer.

 

And there it is. Mom's got a set of bolt on that she uses to wield influence and dad plays golf with the right people.
At least they have money. Use that. You might not get legal justice, but you can get financial justice.

Punitive Damages at 3X the cost of the loss due to the lack of appropriate parental supervision. Implicate as many people as possible.
Where did the booze come from?
He didn't drink alone?
How is this tolerated in his family? Why did he think this was OK?

 

Cement, rebar, and a bunch of holes protect your baby

 

Holy shit, some of you guys are off the chain! Lol.

Look, there’s no disputing the kid acted like a douche, was driving both recklessly and thoughtlessly, and deserves whatever legal ramifications are coming his way, and his insurance and/or parents need to make OP whole. That all goes without saying…but in this thread there are those who have proposed physical violence, advocated starting a facebook page to basically cancel the kid, and indicted the character of his entire family before they’ve even had a chance to step up.

I’m glad that none of you ever made stupid mistakes or bad decisions as teenagers, and I’m also glad that this kid’s stupid didn’t result in a more tragic end for anyone. Fortunately OP’s family is safe and healthy and can be made relatively whole, and the dumbass kid only has a broken wrist to learn from.

 

Driving like that, he should transition to a woman.


Who said that?!?!

 

Some comments, make them no better than the kids stupid behavior / decision....
forums are full of all types, need to be smart enough to decifer from good & bad advice...

 

lol what? that sure is some wild speculation. got any pics you wanna share?

 

people suck ; sorry OP

 

Smell is probably from making out with his uncle in fairness

 

thank you. he's just a stupid kid, not a monster. when I said I wanted to take him to the ground, it was because he was trying to run, not because I wanted to hurt him. he deserves to learn from this: he's only 17. when I was 17 I got away with a lot - I never wrecked into a family's yard and totaled their cars, but I definitely did some stupid stuff.

I test drove a 2025 Tacoma today (6 speed, turbo 4cyl) and holy crap has Toyota improved this truck! I'm a little weirded out by the placement of the leaf spring mounts, but overall, a far superior truck than the 2nd or 3rd gens in my opinion (don't want to start a war here, just my 2 cents). they fixed the seat issue (i'm 6'1 and always have to duck to see out the window) and improved the design of the dash to look like someone actually got paid to design it, not just sort through the parts bin.

I'll update here on any 2nd gen parts I'm getting rid of: floor mats, bed mat, TRD grille, etc. I have some poly bushings and a front lower control arm adjustment tab set (weld-on). I also have a set of brand new tires I never got to install.

 

police refused to even take my statement even though I witnessed the entire thing.

it just says reckless and careless driving and failure to maintain lane, but the narrative by the officer says he admitted to speeding "50 or 60 mph" and texting and that he never hit the brakes and that he crossed over the center line. maybe they didn't need me since he admitted to everything? maybe they figured a DUI would just ruin his life 2 times over at this point and he's getting a pass because nobody got hurt?

 

unfortunately we have the same insurance (geico) and getting a lawyer at this point is pretty much necessary since they will be likely to try to screw us over to minimize their own loss.

and my 2 kids.

had we been in the driveway loading them into their carseats (with the included 5-15 minutes of fighting getting into the carseats) we'd all be injured or dead.

seriously considering a steel barrier like they put on highways (or pressuring the borough into installing one). already talked to the maintenance department about speed bumps and getting neighbors to all sign a petition (they all agree).

 

Bet money he was over the limit, being underage it's a zero tolerance. I think .02 in my state.

I'd have affected a citizen's arrest if the police refused to arrest him.

 

And you’d be sued for wrongful detention, etc and likely cause more issues than it’s worth.

 

Geico is notorious for this, my wife was rear ended a couple years ago by someone with that insurance and was refused a rental even when they saw the estimate to repair the SUV. Of course several months after we got it fixed they tried to say they'd pay for one..yeah. Her lawyer said it's known behaviour from Geico.

That's one thing, but what if there's a next time and it's not as fortunate that nobody else is harmed? That's the sticking point to me.

Told my wife on the abovementioned incident to do that with everything..including mileage/parking to all the appointments we had for her, my lost time off work, and of course her lost quality of life. Not sure what the minimum limits in OP's state are but if it turns out to be more than that is lost I'm not sure if the other driver could be sued being a minor or if it would have to be the parents; also it would perhaps depend on whose name is actually on the vehicle.

Perhaps not the best idea yet until talking with a lawyer, but I don't think anything is wrong with publicly shaming this person either (read, him versus anyone else).

I don't disagree that the parents shouldn't be blamed, at least not unless there's good reason.

Stupid decisions I am sure we all have shared in but this level of it is not good plus that the driver tried to leave the scene.