NRR: legal advice after I hit someone's car while running

Unfortunately, what he did do is legally wrong, even if morally justified. The car did not hit him. Almost is not a justification, even though he was rightly pissed off by the moron for not looking and cutting him off. By hitting and damaging the car to express his frustration, he committed vandalism, criminal mischief, etc., the name varies by state. Punching it hard enough to damage is not slapping it (and not causing damage) to get attention. I did like one of the prior comments that he should have said he put his arm up to stop/brace himself from hitting the car since it cut him off (they you have technically have an accident and the other guy would be at fault since they cut you off and you ran into them). My advice would be to get their estimate and if is too high in your opinion, research, etc, request they go to a place of your choice for another estimate. If they refuse, you can offer than less money then what their estimate is, and if they refuse that offer, they can always take you to small claims court if they really want to press it. Good luck.

I'm so happy to know I'm not alone in my anger at ignorant drivers and hurtful teenagers.

I understand. That driver tried to kill you with a deadly weapon. Then followed you to...........

Driver called me today and left a message while I'm at work, no quote though. I called back, driver's phone was off, I left a message. Appreciate all the input, I'll update as it comes.

All I know is there is no way in hell I would give that person a dime unless ordered to by a court.

=( wrote:

I understand. That driver tried to kill you with a deadly weapon. Then followed you to...........

I actually love it when they follow me. A runner has so many options cars don't have. The greatest moment was when I bolted across an intersection against a red and he followed me. Cop must have decided jaywalking paid less than a car running a stop sign because he got pulled over. I disappeared for a minute then ran by the other way while he was getting a ticket and flipped him off again. (I had only flipped this guy off and not assaulted his car on this occasion.)

brickthebrick wrote:

I threw a brick in a guy's windshield and ran like mad when he chased me. I got away. I was lucky.

You have to think before you do something that drastic. Change your running route for a while because I'm sure that person will be looking for you.

To the runner who hit the car, question I know that you probably didn't see the person; but if you did was she on the phone when she almost hit you?

I try to always run facing traffic and when I approach intersections or see cars pulling out I always look to see if they are only looking one way and if they see me. If they're looking only one way and don't see me then I stop and wait.

Nice I love it Berserker! That is what I am talking about. More sweet stories please!

Was she hot?

You could file a counter suit for attempted vehicular man slaughter.

In most states - it is the responsibility of the driver to look out for pedestrians, and so them almost hitting you is in fact your fault.

If you clarify that you were hitting the car to bring attention to the danger that you felt you were in- it becomes a different story.

yuppers wrote:

You could file a counter suit for attempted vehicular man slaughter.

In most states - it is the responsibility of the driver to look out for pedestrians, and so them almost hitting you is in fact your fault.

If you clarify that you were hitting the car to bring attention to the danger that you felt you were in- it becomes a different story.

Pretty sure in most jurisdictions you cannot bring a criminal complaint as a counter claim in a civil suit. And, if you counterclaimed for assault, you still have to show damages to offset the driver's damage claim.

Legalities aside, just man up and pay up. People are dumb and do not pay attention to runners when they drive. But that doesn't mean that runners get to vandalize their vehicles when there is a close encouter. And, in the future, remember this: a lot of people like to keep a gun in their car.

But as we learned with OJ, you can file a civil suit for criminal acts. Also, runners have a million injuries at all times that they never do anything about. Just pick one and claim it was a result of the collision. I have a permanently partially separated shoulder that has never been documented just waiting for a situation like this.

Precious Roy wrote:

Pretty sure in most jurisdictions you cannot bring a criminal complaint as a counter claim in a civil suit. And, if you counterclaimed for assault, you still have to show damages to offset the driver's damage claim.

Legalities aside, just man up and pay up. People are dumb and do not pay attention to runners when they drive. But that doesn't mean that runners get to vandalize their vehicles when there is a close encouter. And, in the future, remember this: a lot of people like to keep a gun in their car.

A buddy of mine once slapped the back of a police cruiser on a run. The cop turned right in front of us and nearly hit us when we had the light and the crosswalk. My buddy then slaps the trunk and the cruiser stops. I'm thinking that we're going to get arrested and carted off to jail. They both start mouthing off to each other like a couple of 5 year olds. The cop finally tells him that he is just about to get arrested when our other friend comes up to the scene (he was running probably a block behind us). He acts like he doesn't know us and tells my friend that he saw the whole incident and, if needed, he would provide a witness account if the cop arrested us. The cop backed down and gave the obligatory, "You guys shouldn't be running around here anyway and don't let it happen again, blah, blah, blah..."

So here is the deal. You committed a trespass to chattels by punching the car. This is an intentional tort. You are liable for the damages you caused unless you can establish an affirmative defense. Your only possible affirmative defense would be self-defense, which would require you to show that you reasonably believed you were in danger and acted with commensurate force. It seems extremely unlikely that this will work given that you acted in retaliation(or at least that is what you told the cop). Now you might have had a counterclaim had you been damaged in any way. You could have sued the driver for negligence per se for violating a traffic law(assuming you weren't jaywalking or breaking another law that would raise a contributory negligence defense for the driver). However, you were not damaged so you are out of luck on the counterclaim. Bottom line, if you go to court and the driver has any sense whatsoever, he/she will call the officer as a witness. If the driver fails to do this, the police report cannot be introduced because it will be inadmissible hearsay. You could then alter the story you told the officer to avoid liability. However, if you are caught, you will have perjured yourself and will be in much bigger trouble than you are now. Good luck.

Traveler wrote:

I am wondering specifically what you did wrong? There is no law against car punching.

You're stupid.

teamdoc wrote:

. . . Each individual's response (both automatic and conscious) will be different depending upon that person's tendencies. Some will respond with flight and simply speed up and away from the scene. Many will respond with an instinctive attack back at the instigator . . .

Freaky the Snowman would tend to agree with you:

LOL y da hell u run home?

At least you weren't physically harmed, unlike Paul Pilkington (Weber State coach).

Paul and his son, Seth, were out for a run one summer and Paul reacted the same way you did. But the driver was a dude and he knocked Paul the f*ck out.

True story.

I am amazed that so many people bit on this obvious troll.