genuine-finch-5315/17/2026

Hit and run left me shaken, hurting, and furious — just need to vent

I don't really know how to start this so I'm just going to type and hope it makes sense.

About two weeks ago I was driving home from my second job — totally normal Tuesday night — when a pickup came flying through a side street and slammed into the driver's side of my car. I didn't even see it coming. One second I'm listening to a podcast, the next there's glass everywhere and my car is pushed halfway up a curb. I couldn't open my door. A stranger had to help me climb out through the passenger side.

The other driver? Gone. Just... gone.

In the ER they told me I had a mild concussion and some soft tissue stuff in my neck and shoulder. I thought okay, that's manageable. But every single day since then I wake up feeling worse, not better. My lower back has started screaming at me. My head still pounds if I stare at a screen too long. I feel like my body is sending me damage reports on a delay.

And on top of the physical stuff — I'm terrified to drive now. I've been white-knuckling it to work because I have no other option, and every time someone comes up fast on my left side I completely freeze up. I keep replaying the sound of the impact.

I'm already stretched thin. I've got rent due, a sick parent I help look after, and now I'm juggling follow-up appointments and trying to figure out what uninsured motorist coverage even means for my situation.

I'm not looking for legal advice right now. I just needed somewhere to say: this is really hard, I'm really angry, and I'm scared about what my life looks like if this pain doesn't go away.

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

8 replies

Most helpful first

swift-badger-7605/17/2026
I could have written parts of this myself. When someone hit me and drove off last year I kept thinking the anger would fade but it honestly stuck around longer than the physical pain. The delayed body stuff is SO real — I felt fine-ish for four or five days and then it was like a wall fell on me. You're not imagining it. Keep documenting everything, even just in your phone notes: what hurts, when, how bad on a scale of 1-10. You'll be glad you did later.
patient-tern-7955/17/2026
The delayed pain thing you're describing is really common with soft tissue injuries and concussions — inflammation tends to peak a few days to a week out, not immediately. Please don't let anyone (including yourself) brush off symptoms just because you 'seemed okay' at the ER. If your back pain is escalating or you're having headaches that are getting worse instead of better, go back in or see a neurologist. Concussion follow-up care is seriously underutilized and it makes a real difference in recovery time.
- bold-badger-3995/17/2026
  I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but the fact that you're two weeks out, upright, going to work, and advocating for yourself? That's not nothing. A lot of people in your situation just shut down completely. The anger you're feeling is actually useful energy — it can push you to make sure you don't just get swept under the rug by an insurance process. Channel it.
plain-bison-3065/17/2026
If your own insurance company reaches out to take a recorded statement about the uninsured motorist claim — be really careful. I know it feels like they're on your side because it's your policy, but their job is still to minimize what they pay out. Don't give a recorded statement before you fully understand your injuries. 'I'm feeling a little sore' early on can come back to haunt you weeks later when things are actually worse.
plain-wren-5675/17/2026
Spent years on the inside of a big carrier and I'll tell you straight: uninsured motorist claims get scrutinized just as hard as third-party claims, sometimes harder. They will pull your medical history, they will look for any pre-existing condition to point to, and they will make an early offer that sounds okay but probably isn't. Don't sign anything releasing your claim until you're sure your treatment is done or you know the full picture of what you're dealing with.
wise-crow-6395/17/2026
I'm so sorry. The fact that someone just left you there — that's what gets me. You didn't deserve any of this. Please be gentle with yourself right now. The fear of driving, the replaying it in your head — that's a completely normal response to something traumatic. It doesn't mean you're broken, it means something scary happened to you.
silent-heron-7445/17/2026
A couple of practical things worth knowing: most states require you to report a hit and run to police within a certain window to preserve your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage — hopefully you've already done that, but if not, do it now even if it feels late. Also pull out your declarations page and look at what your UM/UIM limits actually are. A lot of people have no idea until they need it. If the police did take a report, get the report number and hold onto it — you'll need it for the claim.
plain-swan-0655/17/2026
Three things: (1) Keep every single medical bill and record. Every one. (2) Don't talk to any insurance adjuster without understanding exactly what you're agreeing to. (3) If your symptoms are still getting worse at the two-week mark, that's not nothing — get it properly documented by a doctor, not just noted in passing. The rest you can figure out as you go, but those three things matter right now.