Ummm…
The kid hit you.
You are not at fault in any sense of the word.
You should never admit any sort of guilt or responsibilty at an accident even if it was your fault.
How is your van? Was it damaged?
Thanks so much for the kind words/hugs/support, everyone. I’m feeling a bit better about the whole thing, but I will be stopping by the PD to file a report just in case (and to perhaps alleviate those last remaining sheds of guilt). Looking back on it, I think that my reaction to the situation was governed by a healthy dose of shock at the near-miss of the whole thing, as well as frustration at the mom’s attitude. I hate to say this, but I wish she could’ve just taken a second to actually make eye contact with me and tell me it was fine, and at least give me a chance to ask the boy if he was all right. It’s not like I was chasing her down to scream at her or her son, or to get her phone number so I could bill her for any damage. I was making it quite clear that I just wanted to “do the right thing.” ::sigh::
I went out this morning to check the van, and there’s a bit of a dent (and a clean spot in the dirt… 
). Nothing too serious, and considering the girl’s 13 years old and has a few scrapes on her anyway, I’m not terribly concerned.
To answer Bella’s question, I honestly don’t know how the boy could’ve missed this big object sitting directly in his path. Even if he was keeping an eye on his sister in an attempt to win the race, he would’ve seen her dodge to avoid me. When I was a wee lass I was involved in a heated bike race, and took a second to glance to my side to see where the other girl was- rode slap into (and over) the back of a parked car. So a moment’s distraction is all you need, but the very idea that the kids were so focused on their race in the middle of a busy parking lot scares the crap out of me- it could have been much, much worse.
And I’m with Bosda… what happened to the assclown in your situation, Kricket?
-BK
Hi Bobkitty,
Glad you didn’t hurt the little cherub. It could have been a lot worse if you were actually moving at some high rate of speed which I am sure Bobkittys “never” do. You know with all this reality TV being such quality entertainment, you have to wonder if they won’t start making remakes of some of the finer gems of cinematic history. This particular situation could possibly blossum into Nickolodian’s version of Death Race 2000. If you were to be interested in David Carradine’s part your probably going to have to get Mr. Kitty to build you a cooler car. You know, like with sharp pointy retractable things hanging out all over and smoke screen capabilities. Just wait until sweeps week. 
Kaiser Willy
Funny ending to that story. Ready for a laugh?
Nothing happened to her.
No license, no insurance, expired plates, and on state aid. Couldn’t get a lawyer in two states to touch her and time has expired. (two years)
I’m not sure if the thread is around here anymore. It was three years ago May 3rd.
I lost my job since I was in my probation time, but they hired me back a year later which was cool. I had a very minor heart attack from the stress, and neither our health insurance or his bio-dads covered anything.
It ruined his summer of swimming and camping, and we aren’t sure if it ruined any chance at high school sports or the military. It was a compound break and had to have two rods put in his leg that were removed a year later. High school sports don’t like to insure players with prior injuries like that and my hubby isn’t sure if the military will take him with a prior break that bad.
Oh, wait, she did get something!
She got to move and get a new vehicle on my dime!
Between Josh getting hit and Dylan with his platlet disorder I am sunk for $50,000 in hospital bills. Yay me!
I find it strange that the mom just up and split. While this was obviously not your fault, most moms would have pitched a shitfit.
Maybe she had a warrant, or otherwise didn’t want the cops involved. You were responsible enough to hang around, make sure the kids were alright, and offer your info.
You have nothing to feel bad about.
I have to agree that you weren’t at fault in this situation at all. Too often people assume that people can see them walking behind large vehicles, and walk out behind them without the slightest concern.
I have an older Toyota 4Runner, that has a hard top with a rollbar underneath. I use all 3 mirrors to check before I pull out, as well as actually turning around in my seat but there is a blind spot there. A few years ago, I had checked for people walking behind my car in a parking lot (it was a small one, and a car had pulled in as I was buckling in my baby into his seat) and saw no one. Still feeling a bit unsure, I started to back out of the space very slowly and I heard a huge THUD on the side of my truck. This guy, holding hands with a small girl (maybe 5-6 years old) had walked out behind the moving truck (with the reverse lights on!) and HIT my truck with his fist because I did almost hit him and his daughter. He then started yelling at me outside of the truck before walking into the building I’d just come out of. I was so upset I couldn’t drive for several minutes.
I know how you felt bobkitty. It’s a horribly scary experience. My legs were wobbly for a good hour afterwards. That little boy is very lucky, and if he’d been my child, after seeing the doctor, he’d be getting a lesson about playing in a parking lot.
Why do parents these days seem to teach their kids that it’s only the driver’s responsibility to be careful?
~J
bobkitty, I had nearly the exact same thing happen. I was driving through East San Jose in a neighborhood I knew to be full of kids. I was keeping my speed down and out of the corner of my eye saw this three foot high blur come out from between some parked cars on my passenger side.
Fortunately, I have extremely good reflexes and jammed on the brakes instantly. The next thing I heard was a nice solid thump.
The kid had run into the side of my car!
I was already at a complete stop before the child ran into my vehicle. I exited my car to find a four year old boy sitting in the road beginning to bawl. Using my best restaurant Spanish I enquired;
¿Donde est su madre y padre Pepito?
Finally some other older kid came over and led him away. To think I could have had my driving record destroyed because someone allowed their four year old outside unsupervised! I don’t consider myself fortunate because I always try to be a really good driver. I just have to wonder how far that kid’s going to make it in this world.
Hell of a way to keep your priorities straight…
bobkitty forget about it the kid probably doesn’t remember it by now.
I was at my parents’ house one Easter and I put my little car into first gear when I parked it…as per usual. My son was riding his big wheel up and down the sidewalk.
Now here’s the strange part. I don’t know about you other parents out there, but sometimes I get a sixth sense about my kid. This wave of panic came over me and I looked out the window and saw my car rolling down the driveway and my kid on his big wheel directly in back of it. Evidently, it slipped out of gear. It was too late to stop the car. He was pinned underneath it, but luckily, the big wheel was lodged “just so” and actually kept the car from crushing him. The neighbor dude came over with a jack and lifted the car off him. No injuries were experienced. Except for the heart attack I had watching my car run over my kid.
You wouldn’t believe how resilient kids are. I’ll bet he’s fine. Bless you for being upset–that’s natural–but I’m sure he’s none the worse for wear.
The only way I can think to kinda justify the mother’s behavior is if she felt the incident would be an excellent lesson in “why we don’t run around parking lots without looking” and was worried you might be trying to pin a repair bill on her.
But that’s stretching it. The kid hit you. I can understand your reaction, though – if that happened to me I’d be a wreck. 