HIT AND RUN-Police and insurance got it all wrong

As a grandparent to a wonderful 18-year-old college student, I hope I can with my efforts compel others to help in a financial way along with your prayers for my granddaughter who needs it - due to a very unjust series of events.

Unfortunately, a life lesson from a dangerous car accident turned worse for her when our planned safety nets missed her fall. Both the entrusted police and then the insurance companies both failed to come through in her time of need. These are two areas we rely on to protect our safety and our property. I want to make sure that my granddaughter has respect for this process and am grateful to friends and family to help support this cause to overcome the oversights that have contributed to this situation.

A few days after Thanksgiving my granddaughter was blindsided by a hit-and-run driver, who fled the scene. Shortly after when the police arrived, Jocelyn was experiencing trauma and confusion. Jocelyn explained that she was the owner of the wrecked car spotted 50 feet from the point of the collision. Police officers immediately asked her to take a field sobriety test.

They never asked about the circumstances of the accident and blamed her for the single-car accident stating that she disobeyed a traffic sign and collided with a vehicle that had been parked. In a separate report from the DPS it was written and diagramed that she then continued driving away (which was not possible) causing damage to another 11 parked cars. She was charged with a DUI from a .03 field test because she is under 21. She was treated like a criminal when she was the victim of a hit-and-run collision with a wrong-way driver.

After providing images and evidence that would disprove the police and DPS report, the Hennepin County prosecutor agreed to drop all charges 'in the interest of justice'. Unfortunately, this decision came too late for the insurance outcome. Progressive insurance (Eagan MN) reviewed the circumstances reported by the police report and denied the claim and canceled her policy. The whole police report mischaracterized both the accident and the character of Jocelyn and Progressive decided to avoid this massive liability claim.

The police officers on site simply never recognized that another vehicle was traveling the wrong way on a one-way road. Since the charges were all dropped, we appealed to Progressive local manager Joe Netko to reconsider or allow us to appeal the decision. She has been left with much financial responsibility that is just overwhelming now with a loan on her totaled vehicle without recourse.

I am a longtime customer of Progressive insurance and recovering from a near-death heart attack earlier this year. I have offered to help my granddaughter with expenses, but due to an oversight, I made an insurance payment 10 days late. That gave them the option to deny the claim before having the case dismissed, relieving Jocelyn as the responsible party for all the damages. And with the liability picture changing dramatically, Progressive still would not recognize their responsibility and base the decision totally on the pre-hearing and incorrect police report.

In my efforts to seek support for Jocelyn's loss, I hope you can help me raise funds equal to the value of her car, so she can pay off her loan and start over to get reliable transportation for school and her part-time job daily.

Thank you for reading my story and God bless!