What should I do in this situation?
Back around Mid-February I was in a minor car accident. Here’s what happened. It was raining and I was on my way home from a burger joint, and the traffic was kind of heavy. I looked down for one second and noticed everybody slammed on their brakes for no reason (typical where i live)
Because it was raining I could not stop fast enough and slid into the back of a blue Subaru. I thought it was going to be a major accident but luckily it was just a hard push, causing minor scratches on his and my car along with some small dings
The driver of the Subaru was very nice and calm about the situation. He and I exchanged insurance information and headed our seperate ways, he said he would call me later that day
He called and told me he didnt want to report it to the insurance company (concerned his rates would go up) And I didnt want to file a claim either (I am 20 and my insurance would SKYROCKET if I had filed a claim) He and Iagreed we would work something out and that I would hear something soon from him
The accident happened February 24. I took photos of the damage with my cell phone and the photos are dated
Today as I was coming home from the beach, he calls me and tells me why he has not heard from me. He told me that he had been out of the country tending to some family related matters and that the estimate from the body shop was 0 and that he wanted me to pay him that
He told me he would be in my city (Orlando, FL) this coming weekend (he divides his time between Orlando, Atlanta, and Puerto Rico) and that he wanted to meet up with me to pay him
It is too late to claim this on my car insurance, which is expensive enough already (0 a month) and I have about 00 in a savings account but I am planning on building that up more because I am moving to Las Vegas, NV as soon as I find out about a job there
I want to do the right thing and pay him for the damage, but at the same time it has been so long since I have heard from him (nearly 2 months) I had thought this whole situation was over and done with, and I do not want to dip into my savings which as of late I have been struggling to add anything to it
Can he sue me if I do not pay him the money? Can I get arrested? What can I do, it has been over 2 months since the accident and havent heard from him, he still probably has my insurance info. I dont think I have his anymore as I thought this was behind me
What can I do in this kind of situation
Pay him what you owe, after all you ran into his car.
Pay him what you owe (out of your savings if necessary). You’re lucky he didn’t file a police report. You hit the back of his car so failed to maintain a clear distance, regardless of whether everyone slammed on their brakes or not. You would have been ticketed and had points added to your record. If you can pay less than $500 and get this behind you, then you’ve gotten an excellent deal out of it. Being only 20, your insurance rates would have gone up even more plus the court fines…together much more than $500.