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Normal Topic Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!) (Read 10128 times)
b0b
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Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!)
Oct 28th, 2005 at 10:35pm
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So there I was, driving down Shimmel Road at about 8:45 this evening on my way back from hanging out with Marie.  I've got my cruise control set at 50mph because the deer are all over the place in that part of the county.  All of a sudden, BOOM!





(Forgive the crappy pictures, it's dark and my camera sucks.  My bumper and rear gate is much worse than it looks here.)

Some guy came over the hill behind me and rear-ended me, easily doing 20mph faster than me.  In other words, ~70mph on a 55mph road that is literally covered with deer.  I immediately pulled off the road, but he decided to take off.  You guys know me well enough to know that there isn't a chance in Hell I was going to let that guy get away.

I immediately called 911 and gave chase.  He was driving erratically and I had to drop the pedal to the floor to catch up with him.  He finally pulled off at Banker Street, which is 3-5 miles down the road from where he rear-ended me.  I stopped about 100ft behind him and turned my emergency lights on.  At that point, he got out of the car and walked toward mine.  I was ready to take off in case he started anything, but I rolled my window down about an inch so he could talk to me.  The doors were locked and my handgun was ready to be drawn.

He was most definitely high on something.  I stayed on the phone with the police dispatcher until the police officer showed up (which took 10-15 minutes, even though I was only 3-5 minutes from the sheriff's office in Centreville.  Go figure.)  The guy kept trying to bribe me, saying "Hey, don't call the police," even though I'd been on the phone with them since right after he hit me.  He offered to settle the problem "honorably," and said he'd give me his phone number and pay me whatever it might cost to repair my car.  Honor?  HAH!  Suffice it to say that I rebuffed him, and the police dispatcher told me to tell him that leaving the scene of an accident was a felony.  She was pretty cool.

The guy was standing about six inches away from my window, which was definitely intimidating.  He wasn't very big, but people on drugs can do things that seem humanly impossible.  My hand stayed very close to my firearm, and I've never been more glad to be carrying.  This was how I was dressed tonight...




I was able to leave before the officer ran the breathalyzer.  He said they have to wait fifteen minutes before they can administer it, and I was gone before then.  He escorted the guy to his cruiser, had him place his hands on the hood of the car, and searched his pockets.  He found "something" in the guy's pocket that looked mysteriously like an eightball.  Whatever the guy was on, he was weaving all over the place when he walked back and forth from his car and he was definitely intoxicated.  Besides, this guy was pretty desperate to get me to hang up and "settle honorably" without police involvement.

I've got an adrenaline high like you wouldn't believe.  I thought for sure that guy was going to start something.  As it is, I've got a $500.00 deductable that I'm going to have to pay out of pocket (so much for that piano keyboard I planned on buying this month) and my insurance is going to go from $135'ish to about $175'ish.

Things I did well?  I kept a cool head under pressure.  I never let my voice raise above a conversational tone.  I've always been pretty good at that.  I also think I did a good job with keeping myself protected.  I locked the doors and only rolled the windows down as little as possible.  This would've given me time to take evasive action if he would've started something, which would probably consist of stomping on the gas pedal and getting out of danger.

Things I could've done better?  Not drive on freakin' Shimmel Road on a weekend after dark.  Ever.  I also learned an important lesson about carrying concealed.  Since I can't carry to work, school, or church, I generally don't carry while I'm traveling to or from those places.  That changes tonight.

If there was one entertaining moment from all this, the guy that hit my car turned awfully pale when I declared to the police officer that I was carrying concealed.  The requirement to declare your permit is pretty stupid, but I thought it worked out well in this situation.

-b0b
(...warns about a white four-door Cadillac sedan, license #NRE582.)
« Last Edit: Jan 28th, 2006 at 2:14pm by b0b »  

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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #1 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 10:52pm
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Wow, Bob I'm glad everything worked out for you man, that situation got ugly. I can't imagine the feeling you had when the guy confronted you at the window. How long was he actually there?

Just glad noone is hurt....

~BRiney
  

"Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."&&&&John Adams&&
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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #2 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 10:56pm
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He never got confrontational or I would've left in a heartbeat.  He stood beside my window for about ten minutes, but it seemed like hours.  I kept a very close eye on him.

If anything, he was very scared of the police showing up and he was trying to be as nice as possible to get me to leave without calling the police (even though I'd been on the phone with them for several minutes before he even stopped) and settle with him privately.  I'm not sure what his story is, but he was definitely afraid of something.

-b0b
(...is worried about how much this will cost.)
  

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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #3 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 11:02pm
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woot, that was probably a leg shaking experience.  Out in the middle of nowhere with some crazy drunk dude that is going to jail for a while.  You could almost say that it would have been easy for him to try to take you out.

  
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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #4 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 11:06pm
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He certainly had the motivation, which is why I was on edge.  I'm glad he didn't do anything stupid.

-b0b
(...grumble cakes.)
  

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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #5 - Oct 29th, 2005 at 12:16am
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Dude b0b....you're like Billy the Kid or some shit.
  
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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #6 - Oct 29th, 2005 at 12:42am
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Oh my word...I'm sooo glad you're okay! 

Now will you borrow my keyboard?  Wink
  
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Re: Why Drunk/High Drivers Should Be Shot
Reply #7 - Oct 31st, 2005 at 10:59am
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I visited the body shop and my insurance agent today, and I got mostly good news.  I'm told I can sue this guy to get my deductable back, but I'm not sure if that will be easy.  If I can go through small claims court, I'll give it a shot, but I don't know if I want to go through a full court.  That's a lot of hassle.

Surprisingly, the repairs will only cost $2,063. On a high note, the hatch had some rust that was going to cost $600 to repair, but they have to replace the entire thing now so I won't have to worry about fixing the rust anymore.  On top of that, I'll get a "free" detail job.  Isn't life great?

On a high note, my insurance agent said this shouldn't affect my "flawless driver" coverage since the other guy was 100% at fault.  I'm still out $500 and another $120 or so for a car rental, but that's life.  All's well that ends well, right?

I'm going to try to get a copy of the police report this afternoon to find out what happened to the guy that hit me.  I'd like to see what he was charged with, if anything.  Once I get a copy, I'll post it online for you guys to peruse.

-b0b
(...is having a good day.)
  

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Re: Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!)
Reply #8 - Jan 28th, 2006 at 2:23pm
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Well, three months to the day after I was rear-ended, a county sheriff's deputy showed up at my door.  I received a subpoena to appear at the trial of the guy that rear-ended me.  This should be interesting...


-b0b
(...needs a bigger beatdown stick.)
  

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Re: Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!)
Reply #9 - Jan 28th, 2006 at 4:19pm
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Now is it on just your case...or are you being called as a witness..or what?

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Re: Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!)
Reply #10 - Jan 28th, 2006 at 5:03pm
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I'm a witness, presumably for a drunk-driving charge, although I don't actually know what the guy is being charged with.  His name is Jon Paul Eichorn, by the way.

-b0b
(...wootsticks.)
  

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Re: Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!)
Reply #11 - Jan 28th, 2006 at 5:34pm
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Jon  Eichorn
481 W Burr Oak St
Centreville, MI 49032-9621
Tel.: (269) 467-7967

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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. - Max Payne
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Re: Drunk/High Drivers (Update: Subpoena Time!)
Reply #12 - Jan 28th, 2006 at 6:41pm
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I should drive by and see if he got his Caddy fixed yet.

Nahhh...

-b0b
(...would probably get himself in trouble.)
  

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