Hit and run 3 months ago — police closed the case and I'm fuming. What now?

This happened to me a couple years ago — almost identical situation where I had partial footage and the cops basically shrugged. What actually moved the needle for me was going in person to the precinct and asking to speak with the detective assigned rather than just calling. Phone calls are easy to ignore. A person standing at a desk is harder to brush off. Also asked them specifically whether they'd requested footage from the city's traffic management system, because patrol officers often don't know how to do that themselves — it sometimes has to go through a different department.

Be careful about one thing: if you haven't already notified your own insurance about this, do it now even though you paid out of pocket. Most policies have an uninsured motorist property damage provision specifically for hit-and-runs, but there are deadlines to report. If you wait too long, they can and will deny you on that basis alone. The fact that you self-paid doesn't necessarily close that door yet — but it might if you sit on it.

Former adjuster here. The partial-plate thing is genuinely a hurdle for police, but it's less of one than they make it sound. What they can do is narrow a pool of registered vehicles by make, model, color, and partial characters, then cross-reference with the area. It's tedious but not impossible. The honest truth is that property-damage hit-and-runs are low priority for most departments unless there's an injury involved. It's frustrating and unfair, but that's the reality.

On the insurance side — if your policy had uninsured motorist coverage, you may still have options. Talk to your carrier or an attorney before you assume the door is fully closed.

A couple of things worth knowing: even though you've moved states, the incident happened where it happened, so any civil claim would still be filed there. That doesn't mean you have to physically be there for most of it — a lot can be handled remotely, especially early on. Also, if you can ever identify the driver, the statute of limitations clock is what really matters, not where you're living now. Keep all your evidence backed up somewhere safe — dashcam file, photos, police report number, receipts for repairs.

Not legal advice, but worth knowing: if you ever do identify the driver — whether through your own digging, a tip, or the police eventually following up — you'd have a civil claim separate from whatever the criminal side does or doesn't do. The standard of proof in civil court is lower than criminal. I've seen people track down hit-and-run drivers through social media after spotting the vehicle wrap or distinctive detail you're describing. It's a long shot but not unheard of. Talking to a PI attorney in the state where it happened (many do free consultations) could at least tell you what your options actually look like.

Quick question — when you say you paid out of pocket to avoid affecting your rates, did you actually call your insurance to ask, or did you just assume? Depending on your policy, filing an uninsured motorist claim doesn't always impact your premium the same way an at-fault claim does. Might be worth a call before you write it off entirely.