Columbia County, NY Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

Tell the hit and run driver to turn herself into the police. She can probably say she hit her head and had some amnesia. You should tell her you will call the police tomorrow and tell them what happened. You haven't committed a crime yet. If you didn't have full coverage, your friend should be sued by you in small claims court for damages up to the value of the car. Impound fees will soon exceed the value of the damaged car. If it is street legal and driveable, then it is probably worth retrieving and using as a disposable car until it dies mechanically. Don't try to coverup for anyone, especially a scumbag hit and run coward. She now has beaten the DUI charge. If you do absolutely nothing more, including trying to file an insurance claim or retrieve the vehicle then the investigation will soon fall off the police radar and become an unsolved mystery. If you are willing to forget the value of your trashed car, then walk away. Your silence will protect the guilty party. That may be a crime of conspiracy, depending on what you have already said. So my primary advice is to report what you know to the police and don't lie to them if you decide to talk to them.

Almost dying is not usually good enough. You should ask the Court in the criminal action to order restitution. The fact that he does not have insurance does not mean that he cant be sued; collecting it is a a different matter.