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clear-lynx-680

Hit by a drunk driver, falsely arrested, lost everything — is there any justice left?

I don't even know where to start because this whole situation still feels like a nightmare I can't wake up from.

A few months ago I was driving home from work, totally sober, going through a green light at a busy intersection. Out of nowhere a truck blew the red and slammed into my driver's side door. I lost consciousness for a bit — came to with the airbag in my face and people screaming around me.

Here's where it gets unreal: the driver who hit me took off on foot before police arrived. His adult daughter and her boyfriend stayed behind. They were chatting with bystanders just fine until the cops showed up, then suddenly nobody spoke English anymore. The daughter told officers I was the one who ran the light.

Because I had a head injury, my eyes were glassy and I was completely disoriented. The responding officers decided that meant I was drunk. I was taken into custody instead of the hospital. Spent several days in a holding facility before anyone sorted out what actually happened. By the time I got out, I'd lost my job, my landlord had started eviction proceedings, and someone had broken into my apartment while I was locked up.

Turns out the driver who hit me lives out of the country. The truck was registered to a relative here. I've since been diagnosed with a concussion and some lingering cognitive issues.

I know I need a lawyer. I guess I'm just venting and also genuinely asking — has anyone been through something this layered? The false arrest, the hit-and-run, the out-of-country driver, the property loss on top of the injury? Where do you even begin?

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8 replies

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    keen-wren-126

    The part about being arrested instead of helped hit me hard. Something similar happened to a friend of mine — wrong person got cuffed at the scene because the actual at-fault driver played victim first. It took weeks to unwind and by then the damage was done. You're not alone in this, even though it absolutely feels that way right now.

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    bright-otter-915

    Not legal advice, but I want you to understand there are potentially several separate claims layered here — the personal injury from the crash itself, the false arrest (which can involve civil rights claims against the municipality), and possibly an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim through your own policy if the at-fault driver can't be reached. The out-of-country driver complicates things but doesn't necessarily kill your case. Get someone who handles complex multi-party PI cases to look at this soon — statutes of limitations apply to all of it, and some are shorter than you'd expect.

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    kind-sparrow-253

    Please, please do NOT talk to any insurance adjuster — yours or anyone else's — without a lawyer present. The moment they hear 'arrest' and 'out-of-country driver,' they will use every piece of that to minimize or deny your claim. They are not on your side even when they sound sympathetic on the phone.

  • 0
    keen-vole-503

    I used to work claims and I'll be honest with you — a file like yours would've gotten flagged internally as 'complex' which basically means it gets handed to a senior adjuster whose whole job is to find reasons to reduce exposure. The false arrest, the unclear liability at the scene, the driver being out of reach — adjusters treat all of that as leverage, not as context for why you deserve more. Document everything obsessively. Every receipt, every medical record, every email.

  • 0
    clever-vole-309

    The cognitive issues you're describing after a concussion are really important to take seriously and document thoroughly with a neurologist if you haven't already. 'Lingering cognitive issues' can be undersold in your own mind because you're dealing with so much other chaos — but they can be significant and long-term, and they matter enormously for any claim you make. Please don't let the legal stuff crowd out your actual recovery.

  • 0
    candid-dove-845

    A few practical things that might help right now: (1) Request the full police report and any bodycam footage ASAP — there are often deadlines for public records requests and footage gets purged. (2) If there were any traffic or security cameras at that intersection, somebody needs to preserve that footage before it's overwritten. (3) Check whether your own auto policy has uninsured motorist coverage — that could be a key lifeline if the at-fault driver is unreachable. A PI attorney can usually run a free consult and help you figure out what you're actually working with.

  • 0
    humble-wolf-080

    I'm so sorry. Reading this I just feel sick for you. You were the victim from the very first second and the system somehow made you the defendant. I really hope you find the right people to help you fight this. You deserve that.

  • 0
    clear-wren-940

    Here's the bottom line: you need a lawyer who specifically handles hit-and-run cases with uninsured or out-of-jurisdiction drivers. Not a general PI guy — someone who's done this exact kind of case. The false arrest piece adds another layer that not every PI attorney is comfortable with. Ask specifically about their experience with both before you sign anything.