On Friday, December 15, 2023, my granddaughter and I returned to my parked Saturn on Spring Street. As we checked the meter, three women came out of the Monarch beauty salon and yelled that someone had just hit my car and went down Cherry alley. “It was a dark orange-ish red pick-up.” They showed me pictures and a movie clip from their outdoor camera. My granddaughter and I walked down the alley to the VFW parking lot where we found the truck, got the license number, and noted the scratches where it struck my car. I called the non-emergency police number.
In the video, you can see the Saturn lurching. Fortunately, my car was in gear with the parking brake on- otherwise the car behind me would’ve been damaged, too. The frame rate didn’t capture the body panel caught on the truck and snapping back into position. I got that from the witnesses description.
The officer who arrived was surly from the start. “How do you know somebody hit your car?”, he shouted. It turned out he knew the owner of the truck that I reported. I explained about the witnesses and the photo evidence. The officer reluctantly went into the bar to find the driver. “I’ll go get him,” he said. After about five minutes, he came out followed by the driver, Ricky D. McClintic, who was obviously drunk but coherent. At first McClintic asked how I knew it was him, then admitted to thinking “he hit the curb.” The officer suggested the driver would make good and we agreed to work without reporting to insurance. The officer made no citation even though McClintic had left the scene. He advised me that I should come to him if McClintic didn’t pay up.
I opened the photo of the Colorado in Photoshop and lightly sharpened the license area. It’s fuzzy, but legible- the last four digits are 0620. It’s clearly McClintic’s truck.
My car suffered a cracked headlight assembly, a broken bulb that I replaced so it was safe to drive, a detached lower skirt that the Monarch staff said was actually pulled off hooked to the truck but snapped back (It’s plastic.), a deep scuff in the finish, a radiater leak, and a battery problem that may or may not be linked to the crash.
This is the truck where it side swiped my car.
The staff of the Monarch Beauty Salon on Spring Street was extremely helpful. They shared the video and photos as well as offered a place to relax and sit while we waited. They even had candy for my granddaughter. Wonderful folks!
My mechanic fixed only enough to pass inspection, keeping the total under $200. I sent McClintic a copy of the bill and sent a copy of my note to Officer Brower. Weeks went by and I sent another note. Mclintic got in touch, said he was broke and asked if he could pay in two installments. I agreed and waited a few weeks till he got in touch and said he could send a quarter, $45, of the amount. Over several weeks, McClintic mailed me three payments of $45. He never sent the final payment nor did he respond to calls and letters.