Rear ended in Hit & Run

[ReidB]

So we're OK but just really bummed.

Yesterday, @Liv and I were on our way to an EV meetup. I couldn't wait to show off the Mach-E to a few other EV fans. There were about 22 EVs registered to show up including a lot of Teslas, a couple of Jaguar i-Paces, etc. Traffic was heavy in all lanes of I-25 in Denver -- probably 35mph at the most with some stop and go. My exit was coming up so I moved over to the exit lane. The car in front was moving but then came to a complete stop.

I think this guy was trying to cut off the guy behind me and just didn't even brake. He slams right into the back of the Mach-E. It shoved me forward. My foot was on the accelerator because of one pedal driving (hadn't thought about that before). Luckily, I reacted quickly and hit the brakes. I thought I was going to hit the car in front of me and barely missed them. I looked up in my mirror to see who hit me. At about the same time, Liv an I both realized he was going to run.

He zipped past me and there was a big opening so I started to go after him. I saw his license plate immediately and began repeating it in my head. Liv was already calling 911. Of course, when she told them we were trying to catch up to the guy they told us to stop. I knew it was a company van so I wanted to get that info as well.

Up ahead of us about 500 yards, we see the van and there is a guy in a SUV right next to them. The van slowly starts to move over to the shoulder of the road. The SUV guy stops and sorta blocks him. The 911 operator is telling us to just stop and don't approach. We do, and we are about a hundred yards in front of them.

But then the SUV and the van move their cars right behind us. The SUV driver comes over to tell us he saw the whole thing. He said he caught up to the guy and started taking pictures of him and yelling at him to pull over.

The van driver came over and gives me his insurance info and asks if we called the cops. I told, "Yeah dude, you ran." He apologizes a few times. I tell him, "Shit happens, but you don't run." He says he called his brother and he is coming. I'm thinking, why do I care.

It is taking forever for the cops to show up. The guy's brother (and a woman) shows up - doesn't say anything at all to me and just talks to the guy. Liv actually calls 911 again and says, "we're on the side of the freeway, this guy already tried to run, and now he has people showing up. What's taking so long?"

Finally the cop does show up. This is the least dramatic part of the whole thing. He gets photos of my docs and asks what happened. He's says, "let me just get his info for you." Liv tells him we have the info of the witness and we we actually had the dash cam on at the time. The cop says I don't need any of that. It's pretty obvious what happened.

He gets the other dude's info for me, gives me my case info, and says hope you have a better rest of your day.

So TL;DR... We didn't go to the EV meetup after all.

Tomorrow we'll try to get an estimate for the cost and timeline for repairs. I imagine it is going to take a while. It sucks because we had lots of stuff (and lots of videos planned).

We did a livestream on our channel earlier today and talked about it and some of our plans for the channel since we are screwed without a Mach-E.

I'm sure you can get some excellent repair content from the situation. Sorry you guys went through that on your new car. Wish you guys the best.

 

[Ponypower50]

Go to the doctor, have them check you guys out and get a Lawyer.

 

[Jimmy2]

Glad you and LIv are ok. You two are the heart and soul of this Forum.

 

[David-HC]

Really sorry to see this news - hope you are OK and don't have to wait too long for the repairs.
Best wishes from your UK followers ?

 

[HBGuy]

I'm glad you're both OK and look forward to seeing more of your videos. Some have suggested a video of the repair process, but just knowing how long it takes, whether or not parts have reasonable (as in, not too long to arrive) availability and how familiar the Ford dealer's associates are with repairing the Mach-E would be valuable information. Anyway, I hope you have your MME back soon.

PS - I'd also find a good attorney, just in case the weasel in the van tries to allege something.

 

[Lola2004]

So we're OK but just really bummed.

Yesterday, @Liv and I were on our way to an EV meetup. I couldn't wait to show off the Mach-E to a few other EV fans. There were about 22 EVs registered to show up including a lot of Teslas, a couple of Jaguar i-Paces, etc. Traffic was heavy in all lanes of I-25 in Denver -- probably 35mph at the most with some stop and go. My exit was coming up so I moved over to the exit lane. The car in front was moving but then came to a complete stop.

I think this guy was trying to cut off the guy behind me and just didn't even brake. He slams right into the back of the Mach-E. It shoved me forward. My foot was on the accelerator because of one pedal driving (hadn't thought about that before). Luckily, I reacted quickly and hit the brakes. I thought I was going to hit the car in front of me and barely missed them. I looked up in my mirror to see who hit me. At about the same time, Liv an I both realized he was going to run.

He zipped past me and there was a big opening so I started to go after him. I saw his license plate immediately and began repeating it in my head. Liv was already calling 911. Of course, when she told them we were trying to catch up to the guy they told us to stop. I knew it was a company van so I wanted to get that info as well.

Up ahead of us about 500 yards, we see the van and there is a guy in a SUV right next to them. The van slowly starts to move over to the shoulder of the road. The SUV guy stops and sorta blocks him. The 911 operator is telling us to just stop and don't approach. We do, and we are about a hundred yards in front of them.

But then the SUV and the van move their cars right behind us. The SUV driver comes over to tell us he saw the whole thing. He said he caught up to the guy and started taking pictures of him and yelling at him to pull over.

The van driver came over and gives me his insurance info and asks if we called the cops. I told, "Yeah dude, you ran." He apologizes a few times. I tell him, "Shit happens, but you don't run." He says he called his brother and he is coming. I'm thinking, why do I care.

It is taking forever for the cops to show up. The guy's brother (and a woman) shows up - doesn't say anything at all to me and just talks to the guy. Liv actually calls 911 again and says, "we're on the side of the freeway, this guy already tried to run, and now he has people showing up. What's taking so long?"

Finally the cop does show up. This is the least dramatic part of the whole thing. He gets photos of my docs and asks what happened. He's says, "let me just get his info for you." Liv tells him we have the info of the witness and we we actually had the dash cam on at the time. The cop says I don't need any of that. It's pretty obvious what happened.

He gets the other dude's info for me, gives me my case info, and says hope you have a better rest of your day.

So TL;DR... We didn't go to the EV meetup after all.

Tomorrow we'll try to get an estimate for the cost and timeline for repairs. I imagine it is going to take a while. It sucks because we had lots of stuff (and lots of videos planned).

We did a livestream on our channel earlier today and talked about it and some of our plans for the channel since we are screwed without a Mach-E.

Sorry to hear about the accident glad you are ok, and that in the end you got their details, hope it does not take too long to get you back on the road

 

[Mach-E VLOG]

Today, I'm trying to figure out where to get it repaired.

My dealer doesn't do collision work (and most dealers around Denver don't). The place they recommended is sorta far away and they aren't part of the Ford Certified Collision Network.

Yes, Ford has a list of certified repair centers. But when I look at the list, there is no way to tell if they have experience with EVs or if they have a good paint shop, etc. And a lot of their listings are actually different locations for Caliber Collision (huge repair company). I've had good luck with them before, but they definitely operate on repairing lots and lots of cars.

My insurance also has a list of certified repair centers, but they also mostly list Caliber and similar chains.

Any advice? I'm worried about timeliness, quality of repairs, and quality of paint.

 

[Maric]

OHHH NOO! Uggghhhh... So sorry to see this. I hope you two don't have any after effects. So great that you caught them and the SUV driver did the right thing. So bummed for you though.

This is why we need the ability to record video off our cameras.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Today, I'm trying to figure out where to get it repaired.

My dealer doesn't do collision work (and most dealers around Denver don't). The place they recommended is sorta far away and they aren't part of the Ford Certified Collision Network.

Yes, Ford has a list of certified repair centers. But when I look at the list, there is no way to tell if they have experience with EVs or if they have a good paint shop, etc. And a lot of their listings are actually different locations for Caliber Collision (huge repair company). I've had good luck with them before, but they definitely operate on repairing lots and lots of cars.

My insurance also has a list of certified repair centers, but they also mostly list Caliber and similar chains.

Any advice? I'm worried about timeliness, quality of repairs, and quality of paint.

I would have felt better if my dealer had it's own collision center but they don't. I gladly went with Maryland Collision Center because that is who Koons works with on a regular bases. Koons reached out in advance to the regional Ford rep who greased the skids for my needed parts orders. Working at the dealer's partner collision center also means it will be easier for the collision center to work with Koons on any mechanical issues that may come up. That means they will be able to get the attention of my FSE as well. It hasn't hurt that MD Collision Center has been really professional and communicative since I first reached out to them.

 

[Keyk4]

Today, I'm trying to figure out where to get it repaired.

My dealer doesn't do collision work (and most dealers around Denver don't). The place they recommended is sorta far away and they aren't part of the Ford Certified Collision Network.

Yes, Ford has a list of certified repair centers. But when I look at the list, there is no way to tell if they have experience with EVs or if they have a good paint shop, etc. And a lot of their listings are actually different locations for Caliber Collision (huge repair company). I've had good luck with them before, but they definitely operate on repairing lots and lots of cars.

My insurance also has a list of certified repair centers, but they also mostly list Caliber and similar chains.

Any advice? I'm worried about timeliness, quality of repairs, and quality of paint.

Spradley Barr Ford in Greeley has a collision repair center.

Collision Center (spradleybarrgreeley.com)

I personally haven't used them for a repair but they have good Google reviews. I've had no issues with the dealer side.

 

[HBGuy]

Today, I'm trying to figure out where to get it repaired.

My dealer doesn't do collision work (and most dealers around Denver don't). The place they recommended is sorta far away and they aren't part of the Ford Certified Collision Network.

Yes, Ford has a list of certified repair centers. But when I look at the list, there is no way to tell if they have experience with EVs or if they have a good paint shop, etc. And a lot of their listings are actually different locations for Caliber Collision (huge repair company). I've had good luck with them before, but they definitely operate on repairing lots and lots of cars.

My insurance also has a list of certified repair centers, but they also mostly list Caliber and similar chains.

Any advice? I'm worried about timeliness, quality of repairs, and quality of paint.

Patrick, I had the same issue with my 2013 Ford Focus Electric. Even Ford dealers who will accept the vehicle repair may farm it out for some or all of the work. In the end, mine was repaired by a Caliber shop near me in HB and their work was painstaking and thorough. Very happy with them and would recommend them if you can't get a Ford dealer to do it.

 

[HBGuy]

BTW, one issue may be where the part(s) originate from. Although the vehicle is assembled in Cuatitlan, MX, the parts may come from a myriad of sources. A video on the overall length of time, supply chain issues/parts availability, etc. would be very interesting.

 

[NoMoShocks]

Definitely get a lawyer. Make sure that their 33% contingency doesn't latch onto your medical bills as well. I had a lawyer do that to me once. Both of you should get some compensation for soft tissue injuries. I doubt the fact that the driver didn't have a real drivers license will make a difference as the company insured their vehicle and were responsible for who they allow to drive it.

 

[malba2366]

I would recommend looking into a Deminished value claim if it is allowed in your state.

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