Expert: Jack Toomey - 12/5/2007

Question
QUESTION: This might get to be a little drawn out but please bear with me,  I live in PA. My !7 year old daughter went to school in VT. She had put together a few bucks for a car and I went half with her. Not real expensive $2000.  1998 dodge.  While at school she got a job at a local Pizza place, Her boss at the pizza place a recently been in an accident with her own car. My daughter needed a place to park her car, Since her boss (30 yrs old) offered to let her park her car at her house if she could use it to go back and forth to work for a day or 2. This is on a Friday... the following Tuesday I get a call from my insurance co wanting to know about the claim against my car for an accident that occurred on Sunday. Filed by "jen" (not my daughters name) I contacted my daughter and found out that the Jen was her now "former" boss. Ang had no idea that the car had been wrecked.  My daughter spent a day or 2 trying to track this person down to even confirm there had been an accident. And to have her call me since I am the "owner & insurer" of the car. I carried liability  only.  She finally got in touch with me and stated that she had rear ended some one. there was a police report that she would take to my daughter.  She never showed at my daughters house, she had since changed her Phone #. My insurance covered the damage to the BMW she hit. I tracked her parents down who in turn tracked her down. She callled us from her parents and she stated she had no more responsibilty to us or the car. Which we don't know where it is. (She doesn't live with the parents but gave that as her legal address to both the police and my insurance co.  I only know this because of the woman she hit who forwared information from her police report to my insurance)  What do I do now... Do I file police reports & Does my daughter? Help!!!


ANSWER: Sue,

   Since "Jen" did not steal the car and was given permission to drive it this is not really a police matter.  It is what is called a civil matter meaning that to recoup your damages you would have to sue Jen in civil court in Vermont.  But since your insurance company has paid for the damages to other car I would think that they would be the ones doing the suing since you still need your car repaired.

  I am not sure what kind of "police report" you are talking about since you said that the police have investigated the accident.

  Your story is a little hard to follow so if what I said is not clear please tell me what you are looking for.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the time, Your answer is clear. The police were called to the scene due to the extent of damage to my daughters car. It had to be towed. Since I do not carry collision on that car, my insurance co. paid for the damages to the car struck. It will not attempt to collect for our car. My question was since the initial contact with "jen" she has not been in contact with me. I don't know where the car is. If I can not "find" a car and she had it last isn't stolen or just not returned?  Is there a difference? Wouldn't I need to report the loss of the car to the police?

Answer
  Ahhh now I understand.  It could be that Jen doesn't even know where the car is if it was towed.  However the police should know since it is likely that they are the ones who called the towing company.  Police stations have lists of towing companies that they use and the officer who investigated the accident would have called the tow truck.  I would call the police station (I know that might take a few calls) to find out where the car is since they would keep logs of towed cars especially when their own officers are involved.

  From what you have said Jen certainly did not steal the car and she didn't return it because she couldn't.  I don't see any reason to report the "loss" of a car.  I have never heard anyone report a "lost car" unless it was a drunk who forgot where he parked it and then the police really don't make a report and usually leave it up to the drunk to find it.