This Central New York car accident lawyer was involved in a hit-and-run and a wild chase. So buckle up and follow my story!
Last Tuesday morning, I was heading east on Route 318 through the Town of Tyre, Seneca County, NY, my usual route to get from my home in Geneva to my office in Auburn. I had been following a slow-moving tractor trailer on the slippery, snow-covered road. The tractor trailer was going 55 miles per hour. A rust-colored pickup truck trailed me. The tractor trailer then moved into the left-turn lane at the intersection with Route 414 to turn left toward the Thruway. I slowed down to about 30 mph behind the tractor trailer as it moved into the left-turn lane. I kept going straight through the green light. Just after I passed through the intersection, I glanced up and noticed the rust-colored pickup truck growing large – quickly — in my rear-view mirror. I knew I was going to get wacked, and hard, so I braced for it.
Here’s a google map showing the approximate location of where I got rear-ended:
The force of the rear-end collision catapulted my car forward and to the right, where I almost lost control. I slowed down expecting the pick-up truck to pull over with me. “Probably just another young driver texting instead of looking where he is going”, I thought. (As a Central NY car accident lawyer, I have represented dozens of rear-ended motorists, victims of texting drivers.)
But what happened next surprised and enraged me. Instead of pulling over with me, the pick-up truck accelerated and passed me on the left.
Outraged, I put the pedal to the metal, trying to catch the son of a bitch gun.
So there I was in hot pursuit. A light snow was falling. The road was a bit slick. I got up to 70 miles per hour but he was still gaining on me. I dared go no faster. I thought I would lose him, but then a stroke of luck: He got stuck behind a line of slow moving vehicles at a curve in the road. I caught up, took pictures of the back of his truck, and typed his license plate down in my iphone.
Here’s a picture i snapped of the pickup truck:
I then dialed 911 and told the Seneca County 911 operator my story, gave her the license plate number, and told her I was still in hot pursuit and did not want to lose him. I wanted her to send out a deputy sheriff to intercept us.
As I was talking to her, the pickup truck abruptly turned left onto a country back road, in an apparent attempt to evade me. The son of a bitch gun would sometimes get a huge lead on me, until some slower moving vehicle near a curve would force him to slow down. He took several more turns, but try as he might, he could not lose me.
The 911 operator then informed me that no officers could get to me for 15 minutes or so and that I should cease my pursuit, pull over, and wait for a deputy sheriff to arrive. They would do a report. They had the licence plate number and knew who he was. The tone of her voice was telling me, “we know you want to catch this guy, but talking on your phone, snapping photos, all while engaging in a high speed chase, is probably not very smart”.
Yeah, I know. So I pulled over, let them know my location, walked around to the back of my car, and took a few photos, including this one:
When the deputy sheriff arrived, he gave me a police accident report showing me the name of the owner of the pickup truck. I was able to drive my car to the office. Once there, I looked the guy up on Facebook. This is what his Facebook page looks like:
He appears to be in his early 20’s. He likes skulls, NASCAR, and wrestling. Somehow that doesn’t surprise me, especially the skulls.
I know his name. I know where he lives. I was tempted to publish that information here so my readers could send him their thoughts, but I thought better of it. The law will handle it. Lucky for him — and me — I was not hurt.
Keep safe! It’s dangerous out there . . .
Mike Bersani
Email me at: bersani@mbk-law.com I’d love to hear from you!
mbk-law.com
Syracuse NY Auto Accident Lawyers
Michaels Bersani Kalabanka
315-253-3293