3-car chain reaction crash and the guy who caused it drove off — now what??
Still kind of shaken writing this out but here goes.
I was on the highway last week, cruising in the center lane, totally normal drive. Out of nowhere this SUV from the far left lane comes barreling across two lanes of traffic — clearly trying to make a last-second exit ramp. He clipped my front bumper, which spun me just enough that I tapped the sedan already sitting in the exit lane ahead of me. Then the SUV just... kept going. Gone. Nobody got a full plate, just a partial.
Cops showed up, took statements, and actually told both me and the exit-lane driver that we weren't at fault — the fleeing SUV triggered the whole thing. Officer even used the words "chain reaction" in his report. Great, right?
Except now I'm dealing with my insurance adjuster and the other driver's insurance, and they're both doing this thing where they're acting like the police report is just one opinion and they need to do their own investigation. My adjuster made it sound like I could still be assigned some percentage of fault because I "made contact" with the other vehicle. I didn't make contact, I was pushed into that car!
I have no idea how fault even gets divided in a situation like this, especially with a fleeing driver who might never be identified. Does the police report actually carry weight with insurance companies, or is it basically worthless? And if I end up being assigned partial fault unfairly, what are my options?
Also — I've got a stiff neck and some shoulder pain that showed up the day after. Saw my doctor but just wondering if anyone's been through something similar with injuries that weren't obvious at the scene.
Any insight would be really appreciated. I feel like I'm being set up to take the fall for something that wasn't my fault at all.