On Sunday March 17, our car was totaled in a cascading hit-and-run while it was parked on the street outside our house. A truck hit the car behind ours with enough force that it propelled my car forward into the car in front of me. As a result, my car was sandwiched between the two cars with frame damage to the front and the back, and the insurance company deemed the car a total loss. This happened in the middle of the night and, thankfully, no one was hurt.
We immediately reported the incident, but because we didn’t have any tag information about the vehicle that hit us, there wasn’t anything we could do. Several neighbors heard the crash and saw the vehicle that hit us, and one neighbor recognized the truck from being parked around the neighborhood. After canvassing the nearby streets, we found the vehicle that had hit us and called to update our report from earlier. The tags had been taken off, but I reported the VIN number, and an officer came out to assess the vehicle and provide us with the insurance information of the registered owner.
Between the time he arrived to investigate the truck and run the VIN number and providing us with the information (about 20 minutes), the truck was reported stolen. As a result, there is nothing that we are able to do in terms of holding the owner responsible for the damage to our vehicles or compensation for loss.
I purchased this car about 6 months ago, in October, after my old car finally died. As part of the deal, I purchased GAP insurance, which covers the balance of the loan in the event of total loss of the vehicle (such as a situation like this). Therefore, I don’t have to pay anything to satisfy the remainder of the car loan; my insurance company and the GAP insurance take care of that. However, I do need to get a new car as my jobs are dependent on my ability to travel- both in terms of financial income and capacity to attend and work events. In addition, without a vehicle, we are spending money on Uber and Lyft so that my partner can get to work.
Our savings for a down payment on a car were depleted in October when we purchased this car, and we didn’t think we would be in a situation where we needed to purchase another vehicle so soon. I am doing everything I can raise money, but without a vehicle, I am limited in what I am able to do. I am more than happy to provide trade or services (come clean your car or house, do rope lessons, help you get errands done, whatever I can do that would be helpful) in exchange; I don’t like asking for things for free.
Some folks sent money immediately after this happened to help us get through the week, and that was invaluable; thank you. A portion of that is already being set aside to go toward the down payment, and some of that was used to cover finances last week. The sooner we are able to get a vehicle, the sooner we are able to fix our financial situation, so we are asking, if you are able, to help us get together money for a down payment toward a new vehicle.
$500 is the minimum that we need to get together, but closer to $1000 would be better. If you don’t have extra money right now, that’s completely fine and I totally understand. If you can share and bump this, that visibility would also be really helpful.
If there is anything that I can do to help out, give back, or trade, please reach out to me, and I am more than happy to figure that out with you. Thanks so much for all of your support this past week while we have worked to figure this out, and hopefully this will be resolved soon.
We immediately reported the incident, but because we didn’t have any tag information about the vehicle that hit us, there wasn’t anything we could do. Several neighbors heard the crash and saw the vehicle that hit us, and one neighbor recognized the truck from being parked around the neighborhood. After canvassing the nearby streets, we found the vehicle that had hit us and called to update our report from earlier. The tags had been taken off, but I reported the VIN number, and an officer came out to assess the vehicle and provide us with the insurance information of the registered owner.
Between the time he arrived to investigate the truck and run the VIN number and providing us with the information (about 20 minutes), the truck was reported stolen. As a result, there is nothing that we are able to do in terms of holding the owner responsible for the damage to our vehicles or compensation for loss.
I purchased this car about 6 months ago, in October, after my old car finally died. As part of the deal, I purchased GAP insurance, which covers the balance of the loan in the event of total loss of the vehicle (such as a situation like this). Therefore, I don’t have to pay anything to satisfy the remainder of the car loan; my insurance company and the GAP insurance take care of that. However, I do need to get a new car as my jobs are dependent on my ability to travel- both in terms of financial income and capacity to attend and work events. In addition, without a vehicle, we are spending money on Uber and Lyft so that my partner can get to work.
Our savings for a down payment on a car were depleted in October when we purchased this car, and we didn’t think we would be in a situation where we needed to purchase another vehicle so soon. I am doing everything I can raise money, but without a vehicle, I am limited in what I am able to do. I am more than happy to provide trade or services (come clean your car or house, do rope lessons, help you get errands done, whatever I can do that would be helpful) in exchange; I don’t like asking for things for free.
Some folks sent money immediately after this happened to help us get through the week, and that was invaluable; thank you. A portion of that is already being set aside to go toward the down payment, and some of that was used to cover finances last week. The sooner we are able to get a vehicle, the sooner we are able to fix our financial situation, so we are asking, if you are able, to help us get together money for a down payment toward a new vehicle.
$500 is the minimum that we need to get together, but closer to $1000 would be better. If you don’t have extra money right now, that’s completely fine and I totally understand. If you can share and bump this, that visibility would also be really helpful.
If there is anything that I can do to help out, give back, or trade, please reach out to me, and I am more than happy to figure that out with you. Thanks so much for all of your support this past week while we have worked to figure this out, and hopefully this will be resolved soon.
Organizer
Malachi Grennell
Organizer
Baltimore, MD