Category: accident


May
2012

Whirling Dervish

categories: accident, friends, happy

It’s been an interesting few weeks. I feel like some bullets:

  • My super sleuth neighbor found the man who hit me and left. My insurance has left him a few messages, with no luck. I am now filing a Hit and Run report with the police department. (Who knew it was a completely different entity and you have to file separately from the actual accident report?) I am hoping he will respond to either the police or someone soon so I can get my car fixed. If not, I will pay for it myself (deductible, rental car, etc.), but it’s a bit frustrating. I gave all of his info to the reporting officer last week to add to the report. I am going to try to pick up a finalized report this week to send to my insurance company since it seems they have not gotten it yet. Thank you for the encouraging words and hanging out for the crazy journey.
  • I wasn’t able to go to Montgomery this past weekend as planned because I wasn’t confident in my car or the gas tank. It seems to be ticking down miles a lot faster than it used to. Could be paranoia on my part, who knows.
  • My brother had hip surgery this week. I’m not positive on the details, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t replacement surgery – just something to alleviate the pain that he’s been having. All went well and he’s in recovery in the hospital for the next few days. Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts.

Now for the rest of the fun.

I am excited to be doing a bit of moving and shaking in my own little part of the universe. I went to a wonderful GNO at The Melting Pot here in Birmingham last night and enjoyed watching friends from different circles get to know each other. It was myself, Lee, Billie, Rachel and Cheryl. The evening was full of fabulous food (only once a year!), wonderful conversation and amazing ladies. It was neat to watch the different ladies find things in common among our age and background differences. I would venture to say some great new friendships were formed last night. I love when my online world collides with my real world. There were a few tweeps missing that would have added even more, but I’m hoping they can come next time. I need to plan that once a month around town and see these ladies more often!

I’m equally excited about a fun little meet up we’re having in a few weeks. I saw this Dance Walk video a little bit ago online and decided to share it with my Twitter followers and FB friends. It proved especially fun for those who were having a rough day like my tweep Jennifer. She got just as excited about it as I did and mentioned how fun it would be. That’s all it took – one equally excited person, a few tweets and people were excited for the #BHAM #DANCEWALKTWEETUP. We’re meeting at Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham on June 2nd at 3 p.m. to Dance Walk around the park. We’re piggy backing off the Birmingham Kitchen Table picnic in the park that day, so we’re hoping for a fun, great turnout. I’m still working on sound and trying to get the Dance Walk Master Guru to come down from NY, but it will be fun no matter what. We hope to see you there – you can RSVP here: www.facebook.com/events/304200246330605.

A few other highlights – my friend Stephen Vinson hit a HUGE milestone last week by hitting the 300 lbs LOST mark! I cannot believe how far he has come and how many people he inspires everyday..and his impact is just growing. He has steadily been gaining friends and fans since he started the journey and they even did a TV special on him on our local NBC station. He’s also having a celebratory dinner to mark the occasion – details and RSVP are here. Congrats, my friend! You continue to amaze and impress me everyday with your commitment, dedication and attitude.

I am still “up in the gym working on my fitness.” We recently got re-measured to see how far we’ve come in the first month of personal training. I was floored to find that I had lost 6 inches total over my body during this month! I couldn’t believe it. I posted it on my FB page and was instantly overwhelmed with wonderful comments and “likes.” I believe it’s my first post to receive that many “likes.” I am humbled by the outpouring of support and love that people are sharing. I am going to keep it up and hope to increase to 3 days with G57 Fitness and Training soon.

Another highlight of the past few weeks was getting to try Little Donkey for the first time. It was as delicious as everyone said and our table made a friend in one of the owners/chefs/managers after our meal. He treated us to a complimentary cocktail and dessert (popsicles). These divine treats are a MUST if you have room after your meal.

The rest of my world is pretty good. There are still some things I’m struggling with internally, but know clarity will come the time is right. I’m working on myself and that’s all I can do at the moment. I am hoping things work out the way I’d like, but know they will work out the way they should no matter what.

Also of importance: I have decided I’d like to be a whirling dervish when I grow up. Do you think it pays?

Signing off for now, but remember….

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


May
2012

Thank you and need your thoughts

categories: accident

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who shared my story online via Facebook and Twitter to help me find the guy who hit me. Thanks to Kenn McCracken, Daniel Walters, Ann Brasher, Wade Kwon, Allison Graves Cheatwood, Nancy Porter, Monk, Carrie Hill, Will Nevin, Donnie Garvich, Cynthia Miller, Billie Dupree, Amber Roberson, Victor Brown, Terra Thornton, David Willingham, Curtis Faulk, Phyllis Neill, Paul, SoundCheckMama, and Elaine Tindill-Rohr. I won’t call the guy who hit me a jerk, because the card he gave me WAS his business card – with a company name, his name and number on it. He doesn’t answer that phone and there is no voice mail set up, but it was a start and that is how we found him. Through all of this I am grateful he did at least do that and also that no one was seriously injured. I truly believe he would have stayed to exchange insurance information with me had he not seen me grab my cell phone to call the police. For whatever reason, that spooked him. That being said, it’s still my word against his and I fear that it may turn into a legal battle as he isn’t returning my insurance company’s calls. I am looking into obtaining a lawyer just in case this gets ugly, which I hope it does not. I simply want to recoup what I have lost and not pay out-of-pocket myself any more than I already have.

Since it is my word against his (even though our vehicles fit together perfectly in a mangled mess), I am looking for the man who went after him that day. I’m not sure how to go about finding him. I’m going to check with the police department to see if anyone reported it that day to 911 or something. I’m also going to put an ad on Craigslist. I’m not sure where else I should try besides (again) paying out-of-pocket to put an ad on AL.com and the Birmingham News. What are your thoughts on that? All suggestions are welcome.

I am currently trying to contact the police department to add an amendment to my accident report since I now know that I transposed 2 of the numbers on the tag and also have all of his info. We shall see what happens.

Thank you so much for the many calls, texts, Facebook messages, tweets, and visits to check on me. I am OK and I will be OK, but I this has (of course) turned into a huge headache. Still, as I keep telling myself, it could be MUCH worse and there are others with much bigger problems out there – that keeps me in check.

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


May
2012

Found him!

categories: accident

Thanks to all of your sharing and sleuthing, the guy who hit me has been found. He doesn’t know it yet, but he has. I have pictures of his truck, an address and telephone number to hand over to the police. Thank you to everyone who shared the story to get it out there. I’m amazed and humbled at the outpouring of support.


May
2012

Please help me find the man who hit me

categories: accident

I was hit by a guy in a black truck last night. He left the scene so now i’m trying to find him. He was in a small black truck that wasn’t new. He was a slender middle age white male with what looked like a Boston terrier dog. His truck’s front fender is in a nice “V” now and I *thought* his AL striped tag was 709A11Z. The officer said that didn’t pull up anything so I must have mixed up a number or two at the end. Here is what I posted on my FB and if you have any suggestions on how to find him or find the witness who chased him, I would be so grateful.

“Thank you to everyone for the emails, calls, texts and tweets. I am ok. Still tired and a bit sore but pretty sure I’m ok. Will still keep an eye on things and go get checked out if I need to. I was stopped at a red light and he tried to stop. I heard screeching tires, looked in my rear view and saw him coming. I braced for impact and he hit me. We got out and he said he was sorry. I asked if he had insurance and he said yes. He went back to his little black truck to get it and I grabbed my phone. He handed me a business card and saw me with my phone and got back in his truck and cranked it up. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was leaving. He took off and I *thought* I got his tag # but must have been off a number or two b/c the cop said it didn’t pull anything up. 🙁 A guy pulled up right after he left and asked if he had hit me and I said yes and he took off after him. I also got in my car, but lost them while calling 911. I don’t know who the witness was or if he got him or not. I don’t know how to get in touch with him or who to call to see if he reported it. It’s an older (not new) little black truck like an S10 or something. I didn’t get the make and model (stupid me). His front end is smashed in and I KNOW the tag was a striped AL tag that started with 709. The business card he handed me was for an Alan Pickard with a 205 # for remodeling and repair business (home grown). I can’t say for sure if he had been drinking but he looked either drunk or high IMHO. Slender middle age white male with a terrier dog that jumped out of the truck when he got out. I’m going to post what I know online and see if anyone saw anything, including pics of the car. It happened at 6:30 last night on University and 26th St South (which is just the on ramp to 280 East). I’m still mad and shaken up, but will be ok. Thank you for the love.”