Motorcycle accident 3/5/2021 at approx 3pm. Hit from behind and thrown off bike. The car fled the scene. APD refused to come out since no injury involved. I was able to walk away and ride bike safely home. Knee and back hurt now that my adrenaline isnt pumping.

I found the registered owner of the car and have a video of the accident shot by the car behind the offending vehicle. What's the likelyhood of getting any retribution from this?

Civil Case would be good, except you don't have a lot of injuries or property loss so most likely no attorney will want it.

You could file it yourself in small claims court against the owner & their insurance company. Big thing would be to find out WHO is their "insurance company" and IF they had insurance at the time of the accident.  You'd win, but getting paid might be a challenge if they didn't have insurance.

You could always try to claim that "The incident" affected you mentally.  You can't "Enjoy" riding anymore.  You suffer "Fear & Dread".  "Nightmares".  "PTSD", ect ... ...  Call "Law Tigers" and see what they say - the call is free.

Criminal Case should be a slam dunk, except odds are very high the driver was an "amigo".  Austin Police Department absolutely couldn't give a fuck when I was smashed into me & Fled the scene at Mueller Airport (Back when it was an airport) & I gave them the exactly vehicle description & plate number and their "investigation" consisted to contacting the owner who said (and I quote in English since I can't speakee Espanol) "Somebody else was driving my pick up truck - I don't remember who it was.".   APD said that without knowing for a fact who the driver was, they couldn't (or more likely wouldn't) do squat.  

Net Result - I (via my insurance company) ate the whole thing (totaled car) as "Uninsured Motorist" & I had to pay the deductible out of my pocket, and the driver & owner never had a problem.

Sorry for You - It really Sucks that you got hit & nothing will happen about it - But VERY Glad you are O.K.

Thaks for the info. It's along the lines of what I expect to happen in all this.

Try the sheriff's office???

I called my sherrif friend and he said APD will drag their feet. If car was loaned since the title is registered to a Hispanic guy but  it was a black guy driving , he can deny it and wont be able to do shit.

Sue him in Small Claims Court & file against his insurance.  

Odd are huge that He'll give up the name of the driver so owner won't have to pay.  

However, as the owner of the vehicle that did the injury & damage, he is still liable for his vehicle when he "loaned" it to another person.   Your best hope is to get his insurance involved because if you have video showing the plates, that is tough for their insurance company to try to deny that the insured vehicle wasn't there or "dinda do nuffin"...

Can you do a property search using his name / address (check Travis County Tax website).  If he owns property (house or whatever) you have some leverage to go after him.

Little to none.  

Always carry uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage on your own vehicles. + medical

In 10 years of living in Austin I was involved in 4 hit and run accidents.

Every single one of them fled the scene.

Uninsured motorist adds like $10 month on my policy - worth every penny.

THIS!!!     I've had several vehicles smashed by Hit & Run drivers and (A) "The LAW" did nothing to them - No arrests, No Jail, No Trial - Nothing  & (B) having Uninsured Motorist Insurance really helped (still out deductibles & dealing with insurance over valuations but better than being left with nothing but a wrecked vehicle and a huge stack of medical bills)

BIGGER_HAMMER

I had a buddy who got hit from behind on his motorcycle a couple of days ago, didnt make it.

When you say APD refused to come out.....what does that mean?  Did you call 911 at the scene or what?

Many times they won’t show if no injuries or road blockage. I’m guessing that’s the case here.

I have seen APD respond to a box on the side of a residential street to be moved and to block a lane of road because a few cans of paint fell off a truck and spilled. There is no way they refused to go to a collision when one of the vehicles left the location and the OP had video. I don’t think they even have the option of refusing any 911 call reporting criminal violations.  Granted they may not get there quick if nobody is available but they still respond.

They refuse calls all the time. There is no requirement  to respond to EVERYTHING.  That said,   no officers available,  delayed or no response.

How long ago was that?  They've not been responding to hit and runs with no EMS called and road not blocked for a number of years.  They might respond if they've got someone not busy but if there is nobody near by, they may never respond.  Not entirely APD's fault of course.  They are stupidly understaffed.  But that is by intent on the part of the city of Austin.  They've been defunding APD for years and now calling for more.  Oh, and they are far more likely to respond in 'nice' areas.  Places where the liberal elitists live.  Places where poor people are, not so much.  Again, all this is by design of the liberal powers that be that run Austin.

And they forced out the first decent chief they've had in a long time, and the next one will probably be some Stateist political stooge like Art Avacado was.

Not to kick over a hornets nest here but again WHO is refusing these call? When/if the OP called 911 it isn’t even answered by APD but their call center which creates the case number for APD to respond to. Once those calls are created you telling me officers are clearing them out because they don’t want to go to them?

OP when you called 911 where you at the scene or at home? Did you call 911 to report this? Again I’m not trying to start something but when I hear people say “the cops didn’t even come out” there is usually more to it.

And I wouldn’t say Manley was a good Chief for the department. For Adler and the council he was a great Chief. For his department not so much.

That is easy, give the info you have to your insurance company and about 24-48hrs they will have the info.

yes i called 911 and the operator said unless I have a serious injury to just call 311.

Update 3/11/21

I had a police officer come out and get my sid eof the story and such. I showed him a car cam video and the license plate of the car. I wasn't seriously hurt but next day I felt it. Went to Doctor the following Monday and have some follow ups. Officer said that since I was injured and the video shows the driver slamming into me from behind driving wrecklessly , they will be charged with a felony. Hit and run, failure to render aid. I'm fairly certain I can pick him out of a lineup. We will see if the DA wants to move forward or just toss it because of muh BLM feelz.  

Car did have insurance from State Farm and I got the policy number by the officer. State Farm already called me and told me they are accepting 100% liability on the cars policy.

That is good news.  Hopefully State Farm will make you whole and the guy who hit you will is caught and convicted.

Officers cannot refuse calls. That's dispatch marking them as "info" calls instead of assigning them a  response priority.  (1,2,3 or Hotshot)

Info calls are not responded too.

As for chief, Manley was a damn sight better than his replacement.

Manley was also a lot better than who he replaced. Every time I saw Manley on TV I saw a very even tempered man, that was not scared of the media but not in love with the media either.

This is usually how it works --Calls are assigned by dispatch based on arbitrary policy and rules that are not under the control of the individual Officers.  They don't refuse them, they probably never get them to begin with.



Absolutely.  He didn't go out of his way to politicize everything the way his predecessor did.  I had the opportunity to meet Chief Manley a couple of times and in person he seemed a genuine and decent guy.  I've never been known to be a knee jerk "blue backer" but I will give credit where it is due.

My experience was he was the same guy in person you saw on TV.  I really think that the city screwed up when they pushed him out.  But they don't want someone like that.

Bet the Austin gets another Fart ASSavados, or worse. Thing is before he came to Austin he never had any leadership experience. A ‘Chief’ in the CHP is like a lieutenant in a regular P.D.

Holy Guacamole!!!  Glad that you are getting some results both on the legal & financial side.   Scumbags that flee accidents should get the book thrown at them.

Having State Farm on it will be good - just keep track of your costs (bike damage) & medical, not to mention any time at work missed due to doctors appointments or other crash related costs.

Glad you are O.K. & that Scum Bag is catching some heat for it.

BIGGER_HAMMER

All true.  Undoubtedly the powers that be in the city will want a liberal activist who will do all the "progressive" things.  Bend over for Antfa and the Burn, Loot & Murder crowd.  F up the city of Austin as bad as Portland, Seattle or SF.  Those are the places that the libtards want to emulate.

I’ve done ride alongs with former coworkers that went to APD.
( rode their helicopter too)
Get in the car, fire up the SCMODS and over 100 calls holding. Some for hours. Supply and demand.
Traffic things get low priority.

I’ve also investigated hit and run incidents, I know you don’t want to hear this but unless someone went to the hospital or expired it’s a low priority case. Volume overtakes desire to get justice. We have to triage cases, it’s impossible to work everything.

I understand that, but it is a sad thing, because the scumbags know they can hit and run and probably get away with it.

Here's the reason it should be a higher priority.  Even though someone may not have been injured THIS TIME.  Next time someone could be dead.  And unless something is done about it, there will be a next time and more next times.

A lot of the drivers that hit and run shouldn't be behind the wheel.  They run often because they are uninsured, unlicensed, undocumented, etc.  These people need to be taken off the streets.

This is just one reason why de-funding Police is a bad idea.

Update: 3/15/21


Going to see a Chiropractor today. I'll be paying out of pocket and submitting claims to State Farm.

To be clear, if I got a case of a minor hit and run and there was workable evidence I would go with it.
If we got a good LP I’d track it down, video is great, etc.
Cleared a lot of them by showing up at the door.

I didn’t mean to imply that I blew them off. Just so many of them in parking lots and on the interstate that don’t have good evidence to work with.
It’s frustrating for sure.

I agree with your points.

Thanks for the additional info.  I totally understand, and I definitely don't blame the guy like you on the street for things being the way they are.  If you've got nothing to work with, like is probably all too often the case, then there isn't much that can be done a lot of times I'd guess.  And the resource allocation and guidelines you have to work under obviously come from above, and are politically influenced, which is where I think a lot of the problems usually come from.

Good for you. Be sure to follow the docs instructions to the letter. You don't want to make anything worse than it is. An insurance company tried to say I was as much at fault as my employer when I got an infection after a work injury, and was hospitalized. I told them no, no I was not.

update 3/19/2021


Retained lawyer service for my injury claim. Going to a Chiropractor. Feeling better, lower back still hurts.


Took bike to get a estimate at the Yamaha dealership. This is for a 2016 Yamaha FZ07. Frame is bent in rear, wheel is bent, plastics and other stuff such as the tailight and all. $2800 in parts. $4050 in labor for a total of $6850. More than likely will be totalled.
I can buy all the parts and fix myself but damn. I dont want a bike with a salvage title.