You won't believe the accident I had today...

[nootch]

I was driving down Wilshire Blvd. today, going through an intersection on a green light, and I heard a loud thump on the left rear side of my car. I looked in my side mirror and saw a body bouncing off of my car! I pulled over as fast as I could and ran back to where she was laying on the ground (now with a bunch of people standing around her). Basically, this woman was running through traffic (I don't know if she knew what she was doing, but one witness said that she seemed a little out of it) and ran right into the rear left door of my car as I was passing through the intersection!

To make a long story short, she was taken to UCLA Medical (less than 2 miles from the accident) and the police said that she didn't look like she had any broken bones or serious external injuries (she was bleeding from the head, but she was awake [and cursing at the paramedics] the whole time, and I'm told that the amount of blood I saw wasn't considered "that much"). I just stood there shaking as the police officer was taking reports from the witnesses, all of which (including the gentleman in the car behind me) kept explaining to the police that *I* didn't hit her, but she ran into the side of my car. After everyone left, and it was just me and the police officer, we went back to check the damage on my car... I couldn't believe how hard she hit (even the police officer said, "she did all of that?!?")! I've included a pic I just took, though I think it looks worse in person. I'm not worried about my car though, I just hope she's alright... I'm going to try to call UCLA Medical over the next couple of days and see if I can find out how she's doing.

I'm still shaking (this happened just over 3 hours ago), and I'm a bit scared to drive right now. :(

Here's a picture of where she hit my car...

[Prox]

She did all that . . . damn. And that really sucks man, i would be very shaken too.

[jadedskies]

holy crap...that's horrible dude...
i, too, would be shaken..that just sucks.

[spidergoolash]

nootch man, this is terrible. that would have shook me up something bad. i'm a nervous driver to begin with, but to have something like this happen - too weird.

it's nice that your concerned about her. let us know if you find anything out.

hope you feel better too :)

[lobo]

Poor nootch!

:confused:

[JHowse]

I would be shaking, too, nootch, but I'm glad to hear you are concerned about her. :) If you find out, please let us all know if she's doing ok.

[WaterB]

holy crap.. did she ram the car w/ her skull?

and yeah.. accidents suck.. the shaky feeling lasts for a while..

[nootch]

Thanks everyone, I was feeling better this evening, but then some family stuff that's also going on right now really screwed up my evening. :( I won't get into that though.

The police officer also called me back to give me the woman's address and phone number for my insurance. I asked him if he'd talked to the hospital and knew how she was doing, and he said that it looks like she probably does have some broken bones. He didn't really say much other than that though, so I'll try to call the hospital myself within the next day or so.

Thanks again everyone, and drive safe!

[mthrlangl]

Awww..honey, I'm so sorry. I know we haven't talked much lately, but I'm only an email or phone call away, okay? ::hugs::

[MO]

I'm really sorry nootch Here's a :hug:

[SwissSmiss]

awww! nootchie! i can't believe that! ugh. but, now call me an *******, i couldn't help but laugh. i mean, if you think about it, in theory, this is a really hilarious event. if you didnt include the picture, i may not have believed you. it seems like something from a sitcom.

but, seriously, i hope you are doing alright, and that woman too. geez. she must be pretty embarrassed!

i'm such a jerk...


:hug: noochie boochies!

[nootch]

*sigh* I called the hospital like 5 times today, being transferred back and forth to different people trying to find the nurse that's taking care of the lady. Finally, after I got the right person, the nurse asked who I was, so I said "I'm the guy that was driving the car she hit." She said, "and what do you want?" I said, "I just want to know how she's doing, what condition she's in." The nurse immediately said that she could not give out any information to me because I am not family, and then said, "especially if you were the person that caused the accident." That made me so sad/upset, and I began to explain that she hit me... but she stopped me and said that it didn't matter and that she can't give me any info. I then asked if she could at least tell me if the lady is okay, which she again told me that there's no information that she'd give me.

It's so frustrating because the only thing I'm guilty of is being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and my only concern right now is how she's doing, but no one will tell me. :(

The nurse said that the only way I could find out is if I spoke to the patient herself, or her family, and asked if I wanted her to try to transfer me there. My first thought is that this might be good news, I mean, I don't think she'd offer to transfer me to the room if the lady was in the ICU or some other critical condition, would she (I honestly don't know, that's purely speculation, which, sadly, is what I'm limited to at the moment)? I told her not to transfer me though, because, after seeing how she cussed out the paramedics that were trying to help her, I am honestly afraid to speak to her or her family at this time... I guess you'd have to have been there to really know what I mean though.

I'm going to try to call the police officer that took the report either tomorrow or Monday and see if maybe he has any more information on how she's doing, I'm not really sure if he'll be able to tell me anything though.

[spidergoolash]

the lady at the desk is a jerk - imo - poor nootchie :(

[spidergoolash]

okay, maybee not a jerk - that was harsh - as she has to do her job - but, after all, you're just trying to find out about the welfare of this person.

[SwissSmiss]

maybe you could try calling again and hope a different person answers, and maybe someone else will be kind enough to tell you the lady's condition...

[ukliam]

Why not just phone back saying you are family, I have done that a couple of times when I have had friends in hospital, even went to the hospital in an Ambulance with my best friend by saying I was his brother.

The nurse might have been a little off with you if the patient has given her a different story, she could quite easily have said it was you that hit her.

What happens about the insurance claim anyway, will it end up going through your insurance policy, not sure how it would work over here if a pedestrian did damage to your car and say didn't have the cash or didn't want to pay up, but I guess it would just go trough as an insurance claim, sending your premium up, that would suck.

[spinne]

Nootch, that's awful. :( IMO, spidergoolash was right when she said the woman that took your call at the hospital desk was a jerk. That wasn't a harsh comment, the woman was being unprofessional and rude. No matter who said what to her about the patient and the accident, she had no right to imply that you were at fault. She's there to help people, not make judgements. Anyway, it's good of you to be concerned about the woman. Hope your world is put right again soon.

[nootch]

Again, thanks to everyone for all of the support. While I agree that the nurse came off as rude and not-helpful, I also understand that accidents like this don't happen often, and she really was just doing her job... so I don't hold that against her.

Anyway, my dad called the hospital back Sunday afternoon, and asked to be transfered to the patient's room. He then spoke to the girl's father, explained who he was, and explained that we were just concerned about her situation and wanted to know how she's doing. He didn't seem too forthcoming with that info (I wasn't there when my dad called, so I only know what he told me, but he did say that the girl's father didn't seem to be aggressive or upset towards my dad)... but from what my dad told me, it does seem like she'll be okay in the long run (though I believe she has a fractured hip).

We also spoke to our insurance yesterday, who said that the situation sounded like everything should be okay, except they said that we probably shouldn't have called the hospital. But I guess they'll be taking care of everything from here.

That's the situation up till now... it sucks, but seems to be getting a little better (relatively speaking). My family stuff, on the other hand, just seems to keep getting worse and worse... but that's a whole other therapy session. :|

[meezercat]

Awww man, that's so bizarre.

Well, lean on your insurance guy, even if it's not your fault and your insurance doesn't have any liability, that's the kind of stuff they are there for.

Keep us updated.