Couldn't get arrested in this town

rrlund

Well-known Member
That was about the truth in Ionia County Michigan last night. I hit a deer on 66 just south of Musgrove Hwy. Bent the bumper and broke a little plastic,but no damage to the lights or grille,didn't blow the airbags. Called 911,they said it would be a while before they could send an officer,if it was drivable,could I come to the Sheriffs Department? Yup,no problem. Got there,went up to the window,no officer available,have a seat. I told the guy I needed to get home,I still had a few chores to do. OK,we'll see what we can do. After about 5 minutes,he called me back up,said there was a city officer on the way to take the report so I could get going. Another 5 minutes,called me back up,change of plans. City officer got called out on a medical emergency,go home,we'll have a Montcalm County officer come to your house. Took me 20 minutes to get home and it was still an hour before a State Police officer showed up.
I don't think I could have gotten arrested if I'd have thrown a brick through the front window of the Sheriffs Department.

A little side note,if anybody down that way finds my 1944 Kentucky license plate that I lost in the crash,hang on to it for me will you? It had a nice pot metal frame from Cliff Gosney Motor Sales in Newport Ky.
 
(quoted from post at 07:33:39 11/28/14) That was about the truth in Ionia County Michigan last night. I hit a deer on 66 just south of Musgrove Hwy. Bent the bumper and broke a little plastic,but no damage to the lights or grille,didn't blow the airbags. Called 911,they said it would be a while before they could send an officer,if it was drivable,could I come to the Sheriffs Department? Yup,no problem. Got there,went up to the window,no officer available,have a seat. I told the guy I needed to get home,I still had a few chores to do. OK,we'll see what we can do. After about 5 minutes,he called me back up,said there was a city officer on the way to take the report so I could get going. Another 5 minutes,called me back up,change of plans. City officer got called out on a medical emergency,go home,we'll have a Montcalm County officer come to your house. Took me 20 minutes to get home and it was still an hour before a State Police officer showed up.
I don't think I could have gotten arrested if I'd have thrown a brick through the front window of the Sheriffs Department.

A little side note,if anybody down that way finds my 1944 Kentucky license plate that I lost in the crash,hang on to it for me will you? It had a nice pot metal frame from Cliff Gosney Motor Sales in Newport Ky.

I totaled a van on 96 once. I called 911, they asked if I was hurt? I said no, and they told me to wait for the State troopers to show up. Took over a hour. This is at 3 am. There really aren't many cops out at 3 am, I guess.
 
Sounds familiar.

One dark and rainy morning several years ago, My wife left for work while it was still dark.

About a mile from home, about 5 of the neighbor's black angus cows ran out of the ditch in front of her and she nailed several.

She called 911. First, the dispatcher was some 25 miles away and had no idea where she was when she told him. It was simple enough, a half mile north of a particular I-80 interchange. The dispatcher then called the local county Sheriff's department and dispatched a deputy. An hour later, a deputy finally arrived. He said his car wouldn't start and he had to find someone to jumper it.

The whole episode gave new meaning to "Chinese Fire Drill".
 
Sounds like the local government we love, not the federal government we hate. Our local law enforcement and road department rarely get it shifted out of creeper gear. Too busy on their smartphones. Unless it is lunch time...then full speed ahead!!!!

That said, usually a little mid-week fender bender will attract 6 cops, an EMS truck or 2, and a firetruck fully staffed. 6 or 7 vehicles and 10 people for a fender bender, and a chance to turn on the siren.

Yesterday, They must have been home eating and watching the Lions game.
 
T-bone crash about a mile North of little town where I farm, 3 pm. totaled two pickups and a trailer load of pipe, took almost 4 hours to get a deputy or highway patrol to show up. Central ND at least both guys walked away from it
 
(quoted from post at 07:47:23 11/28/14) Why would you call 911 for hitting a deer? I don't think the deer is going to report you for hit and run. Just curious.

Same here...I hit a deer in MT and did $4000 in damage, taped up the headlight and continued on my 2500 mile trip. Notified the insurance company, they said just get an estimate when you get home.
 
Several years ago. Many, many years ago. When I owned no rust, little dirt and had a lot more cash. I used to drive very high end Fords. Deer love those expensive cars. First time I hit one I only clipped the deer in the head. What the deer then did to my car in it's death throws was something close to $8000. You are lucky the airbag didn't go. Nasty business, that.
 
If memory serves me right an accident with less than $500 does not have to be reported as long as the loss is yours alone. And I think you have 24 hrs to report. I'm not sure on deer but I've never reported one and I have had insurance claims for deer. Laws will vary by state.
 
Hmmmm......Yep.

My wife accidently hit the panic button on the way out the door to go to work. I had the day off work. She said, the cops might come, I dunno if the panic button means that the alarm company calls the cops and they show up or if the alarm company calls your house to be sure your ok. Well.....20 minutes later a cop shows up while I am in the shower, he is banging on the front door. Had to show the cop my drivers license to prove I did not break in to take a shower I guess. Cop left, no fine or nothing. But...20 minutes.....good thing it was not a real emergency.
 
Didn't know the number for Ionia County Dispatch and I wanted a police report for the insurance company. Wasn't gonna play the "you should have called the cops" game with the insurance company.
 
Thanks,appreciate it. I was northbound. The deer skidded across the southbound and off the road. I don't know where the pieces went. I didn't even think about it being gone when I stopped. I looked when I got in to town and saw it was gone.
 
$500 damage? LOL. If I turned in the plate that I lost to the insurance company somebody would give them an estimate of $1000 to find me another one.
 
A buddy of mine was thumbing a ride in New Mexico in his younger days. It was getting late and did not look like he was getting a ride. The town police stopped by and asked what is going on. My buddy asked if he could spend the night in the jail, the officer responded "no, it is not a hotel", well my buddy responded "meet me downtown in 1/2 hour, I will break window then I have somewhere to stay. The officer told him to get in the car, you can stay. The next morning, he yelled and yelled that he wanted to go, but just heard laughter, they let him out about noon.
 
"Now that sheriff had a wife and let me tell you she was awful, but she brought those eggs and gravy everyday......"
 
Did you hit the deer, or did the deer hit you?
When we had a safety meeting, the insurance folks said when filling out an accident report and you and a deer tangle, one should say the deer hit you. It makes a difference in the wording.
If you are on the road and driving as you should and a deer comes out on the road, he hits you.
If you are off the road and encounter a deer, then you hit the deer.
I know it sounds like a lot of gibberish, but one has to be careful of what they say.
"U-ha o-s-da I-ga"
 
After seven days she got to looking so much better. I asked her if she'd like to run away.
 
Pretty sure that saying he hit me would be about like saying that proceeded to pound on somebody's fist with my face.
 
You're right, but I was too: earlier in the song he said that she brought "..hot boloney, eggs and gravy".

Also, it was the jailer's wife, not the sheriff's. I shouldn't try to operate from memory.
 
A deer hit my car about 4 years ago did $3,000 damage. Called insurance company next morning, said take it to claims adjuster for estimate. Never called any police. The deer left the scene of the accident so there was no witnesses. Insurance company paid for all damages less deductible no questions asked. This was in Indiana.
 
(quoted from post at 07:47:23 11/28/14) Why would you call 911 for hitting a deer? I don't think the deer is going to report you for hit and run. Just curious.

Some states say that any accident with over a certain dollar amount of damage to a vehicle has to be reported. Several things wrong with that is most people have no idea of the extent of damage or the dollar values of repairs.

I know that in our area at say 2AM there are 2 deputies on duty in our county and we are one of the larges counties area wise in the state. At that time generally one state trooper is on for a 3 county area. So here unless there is an injury response time is pretty bad.

Rick
 
You guys are lucky Some insurance companys are refusing to pay for deer damage, Claiming there are too many and need to be thinned out. Iowa DNR in all their wisdom has reduced the amount of deer tags in Madison County by 1500 and the neighboring county to the east (Warren) by 2000. You all might want to check with ins co and make sure they cover you.
 
I stand corrected!"
You are rite it was eggs,baloney,& gravy
Back when I was a kid on the poor farm that we owned, if we got baloney it was good as steak. If one has never had steak.
 
A year ago I had to move from one farm to the next, about a mile down this road with the combine (9610 with a 30 foot header) and working alone I just knew that I could slip down there without pulling the head. I happened to cuff the top of one persons mail box. It was directly across from a substantial Stop Ahead sign on the opposite side of the road and had the mail box been back another foot or six inches shorter I would not have touched it. Got to the next field making the first round around an 80 when I looked up and saw a car up on the other end and wondered who would be stoping to see me when I started to make out the red bubble on top as in Michigan State Police. The first thing the officer said to me was "Do you know that you hit a mail box?" I said I sure do but I couldn't park this combine in the road and stop traffic while I went back to straighten it up. I told him that I would take care of it as soon as I had a chance. I also said to him "Things must be kind of slow over at the post today?" His answer was why do you ask? I said it would take less time to straighten up that mail box than it would to go in the house and call the police to begin with and then for the post commander to send you ten miles to tell me I hit a mail box. He said that he had to track me down also and I said that tracking a thirty foot combine is like tracking an elephant in three foot of fresh snow. All you have to do is look up in the sky and see where all the dust is coming from. I did get him laughing before it was all over and sent my wife to get the guy a brand new mail box. I was as nice as I could be to him as I learned years ago that you will never win in a dispute with the police and after all he is the guy with the gun.
 
A few years ago a deer jumped off a bank on the roadside and landed on my hood. I tried that arguement and it did not work in New York State.
 
There are a lot of times that there is no Officer on duty between 11:00PM and 6:AM in rural Mo. It takes a while to get out of bed, dress and get 30 miles down the road.
 
(quoted from post at 12:37:32 11/28/14) $500 damage? LOL. If I turned in the plate that I lost to the insurance company somebody would give them an estimate of $1000 to find me another one.

Heck Randy, just go back to that body shop that shot a way out of line quote for your wife's explorer... you might just get a brand new truck out of the deal...

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
I'm not going near that place. If State Farm has a lick of sense,that place isn't a preferred shop anymore. I'm going to the place that actually fixed the last one.
 
Had a little essyouvee run off the road and flip over right in front of me just north of Great Falls, SC. Sunday morning 730 AM, they had the accident cleaned up before the state trooper showed. Sheriff stopped by to see how things were going, but couldn't file the report- only state troopers can file an accident report in South Carolina.

Nearly 3 hour wait.

The emergency vehicles had me blocked in so I couldn't leave anyhow, and I was the last witness on site. Found a couple of medics looking the truck over. Asked what was up and they said someone told them the truck was involved. "Only if you count having a front-row seat". If I had been able to leave they probably would have tried getting me for hit-and-run though I had nothing to do with it.

Turns out it's a common occurrence on that stretch of I77. People visiting Florida, one sleeps a few hours in the afternoon, leave in the evening, drive all night, and fall asleep as the sun comes up.
 

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