The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk RIP old black truck

18 wheeler killed my old black truck last nite, it didn't look like much due to elderly man primer job but was 78,000 mile survivor, drove like a new one. I have driven it daily over a year now but its headed to China now. I just put some new hubcaps on it last week. Brian old black truck

Bummer!! Are you OK??

Did you salvage the hubcaps? : )

Man, that is a bummer. Sorry to hear another bolt is off the road. Hope you are alright though.

3 hubcaps are mangled as well as tires,wheels, caps were pulled off in the late 60s I was told, & they looked it. 18 wheeler kept going, the cops told me if they don't find him (& "we don't look") it goes on my record as a accident. I hit about his jack on the trailer, it tore it off & I still have it, trailer was made 4/97. I came around a blind corner & he was nearly all the way across the road going about 45-50. My tire marks start off the pavement on the right side, there is a tall uphill cut for a shoulder so I had nowhere to go. I then went downhill(w/3flats &no steering, whee!) on the opposite side of the road & rolled once slowly in a front lawn. My elbow & leg hurt from where the door caved in on me. Brian

That stinks - we have no-fault laws up here and if your car or truck is sideswiped by a hit and run driver while it is parked on the side of the road and you are inside your house - its your fault - your problem.

I hope they find him and you find a new truck.

Isn't it great how insurance companies turned a good idea like no-fault into your-fault?

Sorry about your truck. If you were closer I could help you find another one. There are a fair amount around here (high altitude (6000+) desert).

I got rear ended (not at fault) by a 14 year old kid who "only looked down for a second". My insurance company paid $2000 for my out of pocket medical expenses until I get paid back by the kids insurance company. It put me out of commission and in physical rehab for 5 or 6 months. My premiums went up $266 per year because I had a claim. It doesn't make any difference who's at fault. The tip here is to pay the expenses out of your own pocket until the others insurance company ponies up or they will count it as a claim that you made. The insurance company marks it as "accident". The state tells the insurance company it's an accident, but not who is at fault. It doesn't matter who is at fault, you will pay. Let your lawyer know about this expense too.

64fleetside,
whoa! that sucks man! That looks like it was a rough ride. I'm glad yer ok, that... oh I would be so mad ... then I'd cry.

-W

really sorry to here about you and your truck,I think you had a little luck on that one ,some bad and some good!.but are you really going to let a little fender bender like that take it to the crusher?,come on what about all the times she got you home safe,and kept you dry in the rain,that smell when you jump in .FIX IT! it will be a great experience,and won't cost to much with all of these generous bolters and there yards full of parts,and if you don't want to tackle the repair send it my way and I will reserect her otay! nobody wants to see a bolt come back as a KIA ucchhh!!!!

that really cotton pickin sucks 64fleetside old trucks are tough but they still don't match up to a semi, if that'd ever happen to me and they did find the guy i'd probly get charged with battary and assault (excuse my spelling) i be extremly ticked of...... wouldn't care if i was half dead i'd still be like "MY TRUCK!" well thats what it was like when i rolled my dads 1988 Chevy K1500 only it was all my fault no other vehicles involved everyone was all like don't worry bout the truck as long as your alright then theres me " ah the heck with that my dads truck!"
Nate

Glad to hear you are still with us after that and I hope the other driver is located somehow. At least you have a shoe-in for next years IRWIPI contest.

Bent, funny you mention smell, it smelled exactly like the old 64 GMC my Dad drove when I was a kid. About the only useable items are the bed,engine,seat & floor mat. Frame is bent, rad is gone,,cab etc etc, the wrecker even got the pass door turining it back greasy side down.I told the policeman if I find the guy they will be dealing w/an assault. I have the landing gear from the trailer, I told him I would insert it into an orifice or make a new orifice in the driver. Houston, I honestly thought that "this was it" when I was first hit. Brian

hey 64 fleet ya think ya could part with with the bed,maybe im being a little hasty cause it just happened,give it some time to think about it.I feel like a person waiting for an organ transplant!hate to see it turn into a kia!!!!!

don't forget the glove box door!

and the brake parts...

the rear end?

Must save as much american steel as possible !

glad yer ok...

-W

Sorry to hear about the truck. the main thing is that you are allright, hope they get the guy. save what you can if you have a place to store it, parts are parts

well good thing it was old iron and not a kia. theres something to say about pick ups, even the newer ones
my wife and kids were rear ended while stoped, and the guy was doing at least 55 and wasnt looking, so he didnt even hit the brakes. it was a 2000 dodge dakota that i bought new. the family walked away from that one. and the hitch was in the pavement, and the tailgate swong sideways, instead of up and down. the guy wasnt even sited for that. but i bet his insurance went way up. it was 8000 to fix the truck.not counting a rental car for 5 weeks and his own trucks damage. thunbs up for trucks. oh yah. my wife will only drive a truck now.

Glad you are ok.. from the looks of things it could have been much worse...

Heck, I wouldnt junk it.. you can buff out them dings...

64fleetside Glad to see you made it thru ok
Sad to see the bolt that way
MAD as HE## that he got away :mad:
Battery and assault my a$%,
If it was me,The,yd be dealin with a darn Homicide
Regards and be Well,

hey 64 sorry to hear the bad news main thing is your ok
you can fix that truck you got the know how and expeirnce lmk if you need any parts i might be able to find a few

64 fleet, you say the trailer was made in 4/97? Does the part you have say who built the trailer?

No 46, just some instructions on how to jack the trailer. Trailer was one of those aluminum flatbeds. Its really sad that someone can nearly kill you, drive off, & the cops do absolutely nothing, they don't even want to write a report! I heard the coward getting back on the throttle when I was crawling out of the truck. Watch out folks, you or your children may be next. Nothing is a match for 80,000lbs in your lane. Brian

Hope your OK.Problem is them 18 wheelers will win every time.

yeah. makes ya wonder why we pay taxes.

Oh yeah! If we don't, then they will send the cops after us and throw us in jail.

-W

sorry about your truck but glad you are ok,,,looks like you were pretty lucky that you did not get banged up anymore then you did....regards..Fred

64,

Where did this happen? Local road or where? I just have a tough time thinking this truck can't be found. The guy prob was not driving through your area for the heck of it...there has to be a local tie.

Who covered your crash? Locals or the state?

Any other truck parts at the scene? Anything from the tractor?

Does your state have Commerical Motor Vehicle inspectors? If it was locals that covered the crash, go see your local Comm Vehicle Inspector(s). If they are like the guys around here, they might have some idea of where to look for this truck. All they do all day long is look at big trucks. The CVIs should have a good idea of who runs rigs like that in your area...

Yah..I know, needle in a haystack, but who knows...some boss had to ask his driver "what the he## did you hit?"

Happened on the state highway about 1 1/2 miles from home. State police handled it, they simply don't care, told me they don't bother to look. They tried to talk me out of writing a report! I told the first cop that arrived to go look for the guy, he waited for the ambulance to arrive instead. They weren't interested in the parts, did not even look at them, I kept them tho. I am almost sure he is someone local, was 7:45PM so I thought maybe he was headed home. We don't even inspect passenger cars here any longer, if it moves you can drive it. I am hurting pretty bad today, worse than yesterday. Got some nice purple spots here & there. I am just glad my kids weren't in the truck w/me, I was headed to pick up Jacob from Wed nite AWANAS @church. Brian

Posing as a potential buyer, call around to the local trucking companies, both majors and independents, and ask them if they have any wrecked trailers they want to sell for repair, parts or scrap. Go and look at them. If there is one missing a part of the landing gear, that's going to be pretty obvious! Plus, there'll be residue from your truck on the trailer, too, assuming they just off-loded the trailer and parked it. Nose around where you can, if the above idea isn't a player for you. It's going to take a little sleuthing, but it'll be worth the effort. If all else fails, the local radio news station or TV investigator-types eat this kind of story up! The guy who hit you isn't going to be able to keep this a secret, so people watching or listening may make the right move and call the station or the cops and speak up.

Can't hurt!

If you do find the toad and the cops won't do anything, eighteen slashed tires (plus his spare(s))on his rig will cost him about $250.00/each to replace, at least, so a $5K expense on his part will help your peace of mind!

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Hi 64 fleet,
I'm sorry to hear this terrible story and I can't believe that an attempt to kill you doesn't get the right response of the police. I really can’t believe it, so it’s better to drive along when you hit something or somebody, they won’t come after you, I would be hunting cops all day and night with a nice big semi and a sturdy cattle liner. If he had killed you, would they just have told your family and leave it there? I would file a complaint at the proper authorities and get the press involved. Do you have the names of the officers that you spoke to? Take some pictures of the blue spots and visit your doctor for conformation of the injuries. Get a report from the ambulance crew, so they can’t say it didn’t happen. The trailer search, like proposed above should, if he is local; give the right results in a short time.
I hope you catch this dangerous guy, accidents do happen, but when you drive away when you “think” nothing serious has happened, your way out off line and should be punished.

Good hunting and heal fast

A very angry Richard

Glad that you are ok, physically anyway. It is sad to see a good trucks life cut short, but not as bad as the owners, so keep your head up. Good luck in your search for a replacement. I hope you find that SOB and stick it to him, I would hunt that guy down and make bad things happen to him if it was my truck. Sorry about the truck, but glad you are ok.

Just a thought, instead of concentrating on the trailer, do you remember anything about the cab?
Brand, model, color, any printing on the door? Should be easier to find the cab and trucking company, check their schedules, and log books..If that doesn't work, you know he's an independant, but he had to be pulling that trailer for someone else..Best of luck, and hold on to the old black truck..No matter what, it's fixable when you have friends like us..Steve

I believe it was red, it was conventional, had chrome stacks & 4 headlights. I'm guessing Peterbilt or KW. Not much else, it was a 135 degree curve, there was not any warning. He was stretched from one side to the other. I told one cop he was lucky, what happened to me would have been a felony had it happened to him, but as a citizen no one cares about me. He gave me a blank look. My wife does work comp for trucking co.s, she has a couple guys at trailer repair places looking out. I have painted a sign & I am parking the truck in my front yard w/trailer parts. My buddy says its a small world. We will see. One small positive,I had just welded up the rust holes in floor of the truck & all my welds held! There is one local TV station that had an investigative reporter, maybe he can help. Truck is too far gone to repair, some stuff will go onto my other truck, the rest will be in the Swap Meet. Brian

if he is a local he will be on that road agine watch for the truck and trailer or ask around at local truck stops hop ypu find him

If it was a state highway, he had to be going to/from someplace fairly close, otherwise he would have been on an interstate..I agree with Mr. Mountain William, when you get time, start stopping in on some local truck stops for a cup of Jo..Not too many questions, but a lot of listening and watching..BS about some crappy curves in the area..Bet someone knows that 135 pretty well..
Good luck..Maybe we should start the BBI (Bolter Bureau of Investigation)

Steve

I have found the POS that ran over me, if I can just get the State Police to do something about it. Anyone have any tips for getting them busy? They get paid the same whether they lift a finger or not. Brian

Brian,

Start low and move higher...Start with the trooper that wrote your crash. In the end, he or she will be responsible for the whole thing regardless of who you talk to above him or her. Because the trooper will write it all up in the end, the main thing is to keep your cool..easy to write..hard to do.

I would also do some of your communication in writing if you don't get action on your first call to the trooper.

If you still don't get any action, ask for a meeting with the troop and his boss. Have one or both explain why things are or are not happening.

After that, move up the food chain some more.

That's the problem, said trooper "must" be one to amend report, he won't call me back, they won't say whether he is on vac or what, I understand folks get days off. It's obvious they don't care, as they tried to talk me out of even writing a report at the scene. I was almost killed by some wacko w/40 tons & he don't even wanna measure skidmarks. Maybe someone higher up will care. At least when I called this evening the fella recognized my name & phone #. I am over the "glad to be alive" spell & now I am mad. I am hoping a squeeky wheel will get some grease. I think I can be their worst nightmare, I have two phones, e-mail & no job. Brian

"I think I can be their worst nightmare"
just remember they know they can be your worst nightmare - just politely keep calling once a day, every day

you may be able to take it to a small claims court too, seein there was a report written and you have the truckers name and the 'evidence' - might politely inquire about that possibility when next you call

Bill

Glad to see that you're mostly intact. I got rearended one time (truck that got me must have been doing 45 at the time, based on all of the damage to me and to my car), and I couldn't move the next day.

If you can get access to the trailer, I recommend taking a 35mm film camera (no digital shots, lawyers have been known to protest digital shots being admitted as evidence) and getting some pictures of the "Negative Space" where the parts that you have fit in.

Be nice to the cops. They may not care, but [censored] them off is a BAD idea. Go up the food chain as necessary, and see about small claims/normal claims court. I don't know where the dollar amount cut off is in you state.

So, without further ado:

[doffs hat]

[plays taps]

patrick66:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

It's not bad with pinto beans and muffins, though.

No, I never intended to bite the hand, just that I can call & call & call & call if neccessary, I have been nothing but polite, but it is sad they don't seem to care, could be their wife or kids this creep hits next time. Brian

Hay Brian my buddy said to call dot cops they do all the commercial drivers inspections .make them aware or the driver and ask them to give the trooper a kick in the a**to get started if you go to take pics of trailer ask for a cop to go with you. Whether it is state or county. if trooper refuses to call back find out where he is stationed .go there and find the sergeant who was in charge the day of acident.tell him all that has happend.also mention that you are going to file a law suit agent the driver for damage .and you have a log of all your call and conversions with all law enforcement and will go to the state internal affairs to see why you can not get any help from the trooper or his boss .ps how did you find the sob