Legal questions about hit and run in Chicago

Hey guys,

I was involved in a hit and run accident last month when a driver failed to yield at an intersection and turned left in front of me as I was going straight. I was thrown off my scooter and the perpetrator fled the scene, only to hit three parked cars down the road and end up in the hospital. I was taken to a hospital, too, and my scooter was totalled. Later I found out the guy was drunk.

Today I finally received a copy of the police report. Because I do not have auto insurance, myself, I need to contact the perp’s insurance company. The information I have from the police report is the insurance company’s name (United) and policy number. A Google search on “United” and “insurance” gives me millions of hits… I can’t figure out how to track down the insurance company. Does anyone have any suggestions? The owners of the other vehicles involved have not been able to track down this insurance company, either. No phone number is listed on the report for the perpetrator, and online lookups turn up nothing.

The guy has a court date of early August. Do I need to go? What should I bring with me? There were many witnesses, I have hosptial records, took pictures of my totalled scooter, etc.

I’d really appreciate if someone with a little bit more knowledge about the law and insurance claims could help me determine my next steps. It seems as though a resource would exist to help me track down the insurance company using the policy number… The perp is not from the United States and I’m worried he might blow off his court date and flee… Again.

Thanks a lot for any help.

If he’s not from the U.S. and flees his court date, he could have problems getting back in/ getting kicked out.

So I doubt he’s going to risk doing that.

As far as the insurance question, don’t you have scooter insurance? I thought any registered vehicle on the road in Illinois is required to have insurance. If you have insurance on your scooter, even if it’s only liability, enlist your agency’s help in identifying the insurance company using the policy number and their knowledge of the local insurance industry. I’m sure they have the resources to do this.

If this fails to yield results you can ask the judge at the hearing to request the correct insurance information from the man so you can get reimbursed.

Keep us posted, I’m interested in hearing what happens, because I live in Illinois and I just bought a scooter-like vehicle which I think I am required to insure.

Illinois Department of Insurance link:

http://www.ins.state.il.us/default2.htm
You might want to try some of the e-mail addresses listed for insurance related questions.