So after a day at mile-square park in fountain valley, showing off my mini to friends of the family, my parents, my sister, my little doggie Cooper, and I drove home to Redondo Beach. After exiting the 405 onto Artesia and turning a left onto Prairie, as we were driving South crossing the intersection at 182nd street, a metallic-champagne colored Nissan Altima with paper plates marked (Mossy Nissan El Cajon) turned right onto Prairie and swung into the left lane (our lane) trying to pass up another car in the right lane. As I hit the breaks and honked the horn, it was too late and the lady hit our forward right headlight area with her forward left side. I was probably going 35MPH on this 40MPH road and hit her at around 25MPH. My mini's engine had died and so I had to start it back up again AS THE WOMAN SPED OFF!!!!!!! My family yelled for me to follow her and I proceeded to do so, almost redlining my mini to catch up. It was simple, a piece of cake, who would think of trying to outrun a turbocharged mini cooper s with a Nissan Altima? Probably a lady who doesn't have insurance! We followed her as she made a left from Prairie onto 188th street. She knew there was no outrunning Coopernicus, so she stopped just before Cordary. She got out and my dad got out of our Mini too. She was scared, we could all see it; she was saying that she "wasn't from around the area" and she "didn't see [us]". WTF?!?!! I was mad so I told her that "that didn't give [her] a right to hit us and run". I was so pissed, since you all know how much I, and WE love our minis dearly. My mom was pissed as well so my mom got out of the car after the lady tried to blame us for hitting her. We all told her that that was bullsh*t (well we were all about to say it) and she asked us if we wanted to settle this with the cops. My dad told her that we already called the police (my sister had called right after we hit and was on the line the whole time telling them her description and such). That was when she freaked out and got into her car and sped off, not even bothering to close her door as it flung wildly. She made a right onto Cordary and that's where we lost her, not knowing whether or not she had made a left or right onto 190th. By the time we were all in the car already she was gone; hiding out somewhere in Torrance. We lost her and the 911 operator told us to go to the Torrance PD and file the report. We did so, and I was glad that the lady officer who filed it for us was so nice and felt sympathy for my 2 and a half month old 07 Mini Cooper. She told us to do a follow up with the Traffice division of the Torrance PD on Monday when their office is open. Hopefully the description and the fact that it was MOSSY NISSAN EL CAJON on the paper plates will help the authorities possibly find her out and give her what she deserves.

The damage is surprisingly light, compared to what my family and I imagined it to be after we were chasing her. I wasn't paying much attention to her damage because I was so focused on following her but my dad said that her damage was very deep and very noticeable on the fender and the bumper and possible internal damage. My dad estimates that it could be (conservatively) about $1000 worth of damage on her part. As for Coopernicus on the other hand, he only got damage to the forward passenger wheel well (it's a little out of whack), the hood cover is pushed in at the headlight, the headlight is pushed in, and the bumper has some scuff marks, but we haven't checked out the bumper supports. Other than that there isn't any real indentations or any signs of paint damage - nothing like what the other car had. Coopernicus and all his R53 and R56 cousins are quite strong!!! I'm glad that he was able to hold himself up AND PROTECT MY FAMILY, ME, and our chihuahua Cooper!

I know it's a long shot, but if any of you drivers ever see her (black female, short hair, mid 30's?) in her car maybe in El Cajon or Torrance for that matter with forward left damage, you could follow her and try to get her IDed or something. I also know that this happens all the time, and it's not THAT BIG of a deal, but I'm just pissed at how careless she and other drivers are, especially because she ran off and even thought of blaming us.

Thanks for reading my LOONNGGG story! Haha, long live MINIs!

 

Sorry to hear this about the MINI, hope it gets fixed up and I hope that you or authority find the lady responsible!

 

What a shame, manilaRICE! Be sure to get checked out yourself...sometimes injuries aren't felt right away. Best wishes to Coopernicus for a speedy and thorough recovery!

 

Why am I thinking stolen Nissan here?

So sorry about what happened, please keep us updated.

 

What she committed was a felony, ensure than she is charged once she is caught. There is NO excuse for her behavior.

~ Derek

 

Please update us on what happens next. I can't believe she ran. She might even get some jail time for this if she is caught. Too bad you didn't take a picture of her. :p

 

I would've been mad too. Especially after she drove off. Not a responsible person admitting to her own crime and running away from the scene of the crime (and you might say from the cops because she drove off after you said the cops were coming...) Hopefully she'll be caught and put in jail. Good luck with everything

 

Has anyone called Mossy Nissan with a discription just to see if they know anything? Glad everyone is OK, the Mini can be fixed...

 

That IS crazy!!! See?...she had a problem, but now she has another problem, and if the police catch her she'll have still another. It pays to face up to things honestly up front, but it sounds like you got a real winner there.

 

I wonder if the Altima was stolen why else would she run?

 

Sorry to hear about this. I hate to say it, but your chances of finding her and getting her to pay are slim to none. I'm going to assume that she was driving around without insurance. I hear about it all the time around here and it's happened to me a few times as well, throught the years.

There is nothing that gets me more angry than folks who take the chance on the road when they don't have the ability to meet the state required minimum financial responsibilty in liability. If you can't afford it, take the freak'n bus.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm in a 'mood' this morning.

I hope the repairs are cheap and painless and you're able to motor real soon.

 

Our ins agent gave us a disposable camera to keep in the glove box, it has come in handy!

 

I think in Cali. you have to show proof of insurance to buy a car.

 

They certainly do! And don't forget your cell phone - most have photo abilities.

 

...and then they "miss" a payment and it lapses!

I think one of the Carolina's leads the nation with a computer system that suspends the plates and license if your ins lapses.

 

Yep, and you can't renew your drivers license without proof of insurance...

 

All I can say is "WOW"!!

Really glad no one was hurt... and I really REALLY hope they catch her. Nice job catching up with her!

 

Glad you're ok... Hopefully they'll catch her and she does get what she deserves

My wife was the vic of a hit-and-run a few years ago. I was there when they dragged the jerk from his apt (pretending to be asleep). They didn't charge him with a felony for some reason.. lazy prosecutor IMO.. wanted to get him on other less serious charges because it would take less time and effort I think. A couple of years later, we finally received money from their (sub-standard) insurance because they didn't want to pay for the damages saying it wasn't his fault

Good luck on the repairs.. keep us posted

 

When the 17 year old (rich Daddy's girl) hit my car and took off, I had to go out of my way to "convince" her insurance company it was her fault when my car was parked and unattended. Unfortuntely there is a clause that says hitting an unattended vehicle and running is just a disdemeanor and not a felony...stupid clause if you ask me...any hit and run is blatant and should be a maximum penalty.

~ Derek

 

I would strongly suggest doing a bit of detective work yourself. Knowing how backed-up and overloaded my local PD is, my guess is that your local PD won't put much effort into looking for her. Check with the dealership and try to get as much info as possible on the cars owner and forward it to the PD.

 

Hit & Run ... Caught in the act. I am very sorry for you. That is terrible

But I guess she did outrun a MINI Turbo ...

 

So this is why law-abiding citizens subsidize unruly behavior with "uninsured motorist" tag onto insurance.
Nobody else around willing to follow this perp?:impatient
I'm staying tuned.

 

Unreal. Just totally unreal. Sorry that happened to you. Very sorry to hear this Nut is on the streets with all of us.

 

make sure you update us with info whether or not she got caught or not.
stupid people deserve to be punished.
i hate bad drivers..i almost got into an accident hundreds of times cause of those bad drivers..

 

Sorry for your pain. Stolen car or not, driver probably had no insurance. Each time I've been hit , the driver had no insurance. Uninsured motorists should be locked up.