Hit and run driver finally identified — but his insurance is playing games. What now?
So about six weeks ago I was parked on my street and someone clipped the entire driver's side of my car pulling out of a driveway down the block. I watched it happen in my rearview mirror. The guy just kept going.
Here's the lucky part: my elderly neighbor across the street was sitting on her porch and saw the whole thing. She even recognized the truck — turns out it belongs to a guy two streets over. She gave me a partial plate and a description, and between that and some asking around the neighborhood, we pieced together who it was pretty quickly. Filed a police report that same day with all of it.
Now the frustrating part. I only carry liability on my car (I know, I know), so my own insurance basically said my options are limited unless I want to pursue the at-fault driver directly. I contacted his insurance and at first they seemed almost cooperative — said the witness statement was helpful and they'd "look into it." That was three weeks ago. Now they're dodging my calls and when I do get someone, they just say the "investigation is ongoing."
The driver himself apparently told his insurance company he doesn't know what I'm talking about. My neighbor is willing to give a recorded statement but I don't know if I should let her do that without me having some kind of representation first.
I'm not trying to be litigious but my car has been sitting undriveable and I've had to rent something out of pocket. I'm honestly not sure if I should just get a lawyer involved now or keep trying to work with his insurance.
Has anyone dealt with something like this? How long did it take before things moved forward?