I'm getting totally screwed.

I went to the supermarket last Monday. The parking lot has the usual angled parking spaces. I parked the car, went into the store and did my shopping. While I was shopping, I became aware that my blood sugar was dropping (I’m diabetic). I usually carry glucose tablets with me, but I was out. (I should have thought to buy a candy bar, but didn’t.) So I hurried to the checkout, paid for my stuff and hurried out to the car. As I was loading the trunk, I suddenly realized that the maroon car parked to my left was parked all the way against my car. They were touching around the area of my left front wheel well and the other car’s side door. To nobody in particular, I yelled something like “Oh shit, look how this idiot parked!” The only other person in the parking lot at the time was the guy whose job it is to retrieve shopping carts. He looked in my direction, but couldn’t actually see whether the cars touched, because he was in the next lane, and there were cars parked between him and my car.

I was very concerned about my low blood sugar, and needed to get home while I could still drive. So I got into the car through the passenger side, started up and shifted into reverse. As a started to back out, there was a scraping sound as my car disengaged from the other one, and the other car sort of bounced a little. The guy in the other lane saw all this. I noticed that there was an approximately nine-inch scrape on the other car’s door, but the only thing on my mind was getting home and getting my blood sugar back up.

So I got home, ate something, and lay down while the food took effect. I fell asleep for a while, until I was awakened by someone loudly knocking on my back door and ringing the bell. It turned out to be a police officer. He started asking me questions about the fact that I had hit a car and left the scene of the accident. He told me a witness had gotten my plate number, and there was maroon paint on the side of my car. So I explained to him exactly what happened. He said the witness claimed the cars were not touching, and I deliberately hit the other car while backing up. He gave me a summons to appear in court next Thursday. The official offense is “improper backing.”

He also gave me the name and number of the woman whose car I “hit.” So I called her. She sounded like an elderly woman who was polite at first, until I started describing how she had parked. Then she went ballistic. She became extremely angry and defensive, and wouldn’t listen to a word I said. She mentioned something about “you white boys think you’re smarter than anyone else.” (Apparently she’s black). I don’t believe she was lying about the way she had parked; I think she just didn’t notice. I remember how my mother used to drive and park when she still drove. At any rate, the conversation got to the point where we both pretty much hung up on each other.

I then got a call from her insurance agent, who listened to, and recorded, my side of the story. I wound up talking with him three times.

Now. Here’s a little twist on this entire story: My mother passed away last year, and the car I’ve been driving was hers, and the attorney hasn’t transferred the title to me yet. So I called the insurance company, only to be told that the last premium wasn’t paid, so the policy expired in November. And of course, I can’t get new insurance till the title is in my name. So what this means is that I’m driving an uninsured car that I don’t even own.

And now the woman’s insurance agent is claiming there’s another witness saying that I hit her car.

So I’m totally screwed. Two witnesses are claiming I deliberately hit this woman’s car, then left the scene, driving someone else’s uninsured car. I know what the truth is, but I have no witnesses and no evidence. And it doesn’t look good that I left the scene. I’m having nightmares of showing up in court next week, getting fined more money than I have, and winding up either in some Turkish prison or a chain gang in Mississippi. So if you guys never hear from me after the 28th, please send someone to take care of my cat. He may not still be alive by the time I get home.

That truly sucks.
My advice to you is to keep imagining outrageous worst-case scenarios. That way, the actual outcome can’t help but be a relief.
I hope things work out as best they can for you.

I assume you will be contacting a mod to correct the OP title to "I totally screwed up!"

I had a girlfriend who had low blood sugar issues. She couldn’t think straight when it happened. All she would need was to eat something, anything, to bring her blood sugar up a bit when it was low, but nearly every time it happened she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I expect that people are going to tell you that you could have avoided this whole mess by eating a candy bar, but I’ll defend you. Low blood sugar messes with the thought process and makes people do things that don’t make much sense.

Meh, you made your choice, you pay your fines. Life goes on. You are not totally screwed. “Improper backing” is not a felony.

If someone is unable to eat a candy bar, I’d just as soon they not drive.

Yeah, it’s the same for me when I’m dizzy… I didn’t learn that when that happens I need to Stop Working And Get Home until several episodes of coworkers saying “are you ok? You’re green!”

I can drive when that happens if I notice at the start of the crisis. If things get real bad, I need someone else to drive me. To me, having a boss who believes me when I say “I’m dizzy, I’m going home” and offers to have someone drive me/call a cab or having one who doesn’t believe me is… just… I have no words. But I’ve left a couple jobs, mainly for the reason that the boss didn’t believe me and I was sick of the attendant bullshit (I always think those guys will roll their eyes if their pregnant wife complains of back pains: after all, it doesn’t happen to them).

Call a local paint-and-sheet place and find out the likely cost for repairs. I think the most you can get is some fine plus having to pay for the paint job but of course IANAL.

I agree. The problem is that they don’t think that clearly. They’re very similar to people who drink and drive - their judgment is impaired. They think they’re okay to drive when in fact they are not.

Two of my mates are diabetic (one severely).
They tell me that they organise their life around having insulin + sugar to hand, and keeping their stocks up.

I’m sorry you are facing such problems, but you need to have a system so this stuff doesn’t happen.

Reason to question just about any/every aspect of the OP’s version of events.

That doesn’t happen with me. I recognize the symptoms early enough that I have plenty of time to act accordingly; it doesn’t hit me instantaneously, like it does with some people. And it never affects my judgment. The initial symptoms are cold, clammy hands, possibly a little shaky, slight light-headedness; nothing I can’t handle while driving. Eventually there’s trouble concentrating, but it hadn’t reached this stage yet. I never would have driven if it had been that bad.

Were you parked in the grocery store lot, or on the street? If you were in a parking lot it’s private property. I didn’t think one could get a ticket on private property.

Someone once hit my car in a grocery store lot and the police wanted no part of it. Mine was she said she said, with no witnesses too. I paid my damage. (She had none)
Good luck.

By your own admission you were driving while impaired. That’s in addition to leaving the scene of an accident and driving an uninsured car. You should contact a good attorney immediately.

You purposefully crashed your car into another car to get your fix. Are you saying that your judgment wasn’t impaired by the low blood sugar, but rather that you just didn’t give a crap about hitting the other car? You knew you would hit the car, right?

So you’ve been driving around this whole time with no insurance? Did you think this was somehow okay? When did you get this car? Did you not realize you need insurance on it?
Has your blood sugar been low since November?

Everything here seems like it’s completely your fault. If someone parks behind you, they might be the asshole or the idiot, but it takes a bigger one to hit that car on the way out. If you can’t back up withtout hitting a car, don’t back up.

The reason that I suggested talking to an attorney is that you may be tempted to claim “low blood sugar” as a defense, but doing so could make things worse, since you’re then admitting to driving while impaired. It might be best to accept the fine for “improper backing.”

Realistically, though, you may need to be evaluated by a doctor to see whether you should be driving at all.

You’re SOL unless you can get hopping Cart Man to at least testify that he heard someone in the parking lot say “Oh shit, look how this idiot parked.” Then maybe … but sounds like more people saw you leave than saw her arrive so don’t get your hopes up.

And yeah, this is not looking good for you. Judge may let you off of the uninsured deal IF you can show progress toward getting insured. Check with your insurance company to see what you need to do RIGHT NOW to get the car insured RIGHT NOW. You do have an insurable interest in the vehicle, especially if you are the primary/sole operator. You can say you were ignorant, which may or may not fly, but if you don’t have insurance by court time then you’re knowingly uninsured, and that’s Bad.

And yeah, it could be worse. You could have had a super-duper, absolutely all your fault multiple-fatality run through a red light accident. Then you’d be screw-hooed.

DWI baby.

Driving while impaired.

I’d suppress that info as much as possible, if it is even possible to do so at this time after talking with so many people.

I used to tutor a guy that was severely diabetic, he was legally blind because he managed his sugar so badly. (adult onset, early 30’s, several episodes I was aware of) To say he lacked judgement was an understatement.

This is the only part I have much sympathy with; apparently you hit the car of a racist. The rest is all your fault.

Why did you wait until you were home to eat something? You were at the grocery store, why not munch something in the car before driving?