Submitted dashcam footage shows the driver’s reaction during the crash and leading up to deciding to hit-and-run.
Presumed Waco resident and Redditor /u/rdup98 submitted dashcam footage to the /r/idiotsincars subreddit showing the harebrained moment a driver in a mid-2000s Ford Mustang crashed into the back of /u/rdup98’s crossover because she was clearly on her cellphone.
Check out OP’s rear dashcam footage below.
Idiot on their phone accelerates on red, hits the back of my car, and then doesn’t follow me into the gas station after the light. I got the plate though so, I’m going through insurance since Waco PD doesn’t want to do anything about it. [OC]
byu/rdup98 inIdiotsInCars
The accident took place on Lake Shore Dr in Waco, TX just before the intersection with Gholson Rd (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s dashcam footage shows, he’s stopped on Lake Shore Dr. waiting for his light to turn green.
The driver in the Ford Mustang can be seen looking down on something in her lap.
For some reason, perhaps because her foot slipped off her brakes, she starts rolling forward towards OP’s back bumper.
A millisecond before she hits, she looks up and realizes it’s too late.
With her cellphone flying in front of her face, her reaction says it all.
Thankfully, the crash was relatively low speed and probably didn’t cause much damage.
OP drives forward and goes into a center turn lane towards a gas station so they can stop to talk to each other.
Many in the comments critiqued OP’s decision to drive on without acknowledging to the other driver that they should pull over to discuss what happened.
“You f***ed up by moving. Yes, it sucks to inconvenience other people on the road, but you drove away from the accident without acknowledging it happened. I’m guessing the other driver saw you leave and figured you didn’t care. You have to get out and tell them your plans to move to the gas station,” /u/Lloyd–Christmas commented.
Regardless, it’s the law to stop if you’re involved in a collision to check on the damage, each other, and to possibly go forward with insurance claims.
That doesn’t happen, and the lady drives off, committing hit-and-run.
Her Texas plates read 437-DV15.
Here’s OP’s comment explaining what happened after the hit.
Comment
byu/rdup98 from discussion
inIdiotsInCars
OP explains that thanks to his dashcam footage, his insurance was able to file a claim against the other Ford Mustang driver.
“They mostly hit the plastic on the lower portion of my bumper so there are some scrapes on it and a little bit of paint damage. Not too bad but I still want it fixed, so I’m waiting to hear back from their insurance. Geico found it after running their plate and filed the claim for me.”
The rest of the comments were interesting to say the least, many retelling their own hit-and-run tales.
“Someone did this same thing to me before. I got over into the turn lane to pull over and they drove past, so I got back in my lane and followed them. They pulled into a busy Walmart parking lot and tried to hide in a parking spot,” /u/ThatLeeGuy commented.
“I’ve literally done this when I was 15 (I was an Idiot) and also in a 97 blue Mustang lol and they were at my door in 30 minutes in 2012,” /u/-SpongeKakeKilla added.
I suppose the takeaway here is, if you’re involved in an accident, however small, be sure to stop or make clear to the other driver that you both intend to stop to possibly exchange information.
And, if you don’t already have one, get yourself a dashcam.
