On May 26, 2024, 9:48 a.m., I was involved in a fender bender at the farmers’ market. A car flying in reverse was not looking and coming too quickly and crashed right in to my car. When I saw that they were backing out, I came to a full stop to let them go first. If they were looking, they would have seen me. I honked when she got too close, but it was too late.
I was ready to get pissed off when I got out of the car. But when I got out and the other party got out, I saw that it was my new neighbor vendor (who I had just moved next to not too long prior). And she was a new neighbor that was nice to me. My brain went from about to be mad to, OMG how do I get mad at someone who has been nice and who I have to see every week?
The first thing that she said to me when she got out of the car was, “Didn’t you see me?” That really messed with my brain. Like, um…. excuse me? Did I hit you? YOU were the one that hit me, because, you obviously weren’t looking. I saw you and I stopped to let you finish backing up first. I didn’t know you were going to back up that far and that fast.
Right away, I took pictures. When I got done taking pictures, the assistant market manager comes after he heard the honk and crash.
Let’s use the nickname, Reckless, for the other party. Reckless looked to see the damage she did. “I don’t know if I hit your tires, too,” she said.
“No, I don’t think you hit her tires, just her side,” said the “witness”, the assistant market manager. Let’s give him the nickname, FW, for fake witness.
The main market manager’s sister (who also helps with the markets) was there and she came to ask about what happened. She asked if we had insurance. I said yes. Reckless said no. My car has some minor damages on it already (mostly scratches) and she asked if the dent was there before. I said no. Reckless said she will pay out of pocket. In any other case, I would have reported it ASAP, but this was an uncomfortable situation because she was my vendor neighbor and someone that I have to see every week. I wanted to keep things cordial. The damage was not severe and nobody was hurt. I agreed to let her pay out of pocket and told her that I’d get the estimate and let her know.
During that week, I am super sick and unable to do anything, including go in for an estimate. I see her the following week and she then changes her mind to think that the accident was 50/50 and said she will pay for “half”. I am just flabbergasted. She suddenly has a “witness” that “saw the whole thing”. She said the “witness” saw that we were both at fault, so she thinks we should split the costs.
When I later spoke with the “witness”, FW, the story was changing even more. He said to me, “I saw the whole thing. You guys were both about to crash into each other and almost did, but nobody crashed.” I was then just starting to feel more and more like I was getting punked. Like, how do they even think any of this makes sense and who are they fooling? He came on over from his booth, why? Because he heard the honk and crash. The dent is there, why? Because she hit me. In the text exchange, she talks about the estimate, why? Because there WAS a hit. If this isn’t gaslighting, I don’t know what is…..from both of them.
I was done trying to be nice and decided to report because I wasn’t playing this game. The next day, I reported to my insurance company. Of course, they asked why I did not report right away. I explained that the other party said that they did not have insurance and wanted to pay out of pocket, but that they were trying to change stories and play games, so I decided that I need to report.
They asked questions, got a recorded statement, etc. The whole call took about 38 minutes. They told me that it is common for people who are at fault to keep changing stories. On top of that, she is not insured. They determined that fault was 100% with the other party. My deductible was waived also. They said that the person backing up has a much greater responsibility to be cautious, considering what they hit could be a pedestrian. And Reckless was backing up pretty fast, not slowly and cautiously, and obviously, without looking.
They asked if there were any witnesses. The everchanging statement from the “witness” was not one that’d be in my favor, but he was the one that decided to take on that role of “witness”. I told them of this, everything from when he appeared, what he said, etc. When the insurance company calls the other party, they’d be asking her if there were any witnesses, she would have named him anyway. And apparently, this “witness” that “saw the whole thing” did not see that the first thing I did was take pictures. So it is his “witness” statement against my pictures. Like, let him go ahead and lie against proof. It is on him if he wants to commit perjury and possibly get in trouble.
So I got my estimate, arranged for when to drop off the car to start the repair and get a rental. Some folks were telling me that the market could be at risk of a sticky situation because of this mishap. I feel like that is the motive behind why there is suddenly a “witness” that “saw the whole thing”. The main manager was not there that day, but she later told me that FW called him when it happened. She was kind of discouraging me of reporting. She said, “There was no police report. And there was a witness. A witness changes everything. Insurance companies aren’t there to help you. Once you make a statement, you can’t take it back. You do what you gotta do, but a ‘witness’ is everything.” She was also trying to tell me that “they” were saying that the dent was already there. Alarms went off when I heard all this. It was starting to make sense why a sudden “witness” came about.
Someone also sent me this…. Injuries to People & Damage to Property at Farmers Markets (farmersmarketlegaltoolkit.org)
So it’s looking like the market can have some liability. I am just not sure how much or how. But the suddenly coming up with a “witness” thing was starting to make sense. They had a motive, to cover themselves.
I sent solid receipts to my insurance company, including pictures, text messages with the other party (proof), and reasons why FW couldn’t have been a “witness”. If he did “see the whole thing”, he would have seen who hit who and who was clearly 100% at fault. Inspection can tell from the damage alone, who was at fault. HE WOULD HAVE ALSO SEEN THAT THE FIRST THING I DID WAS TAKE PICTURES.
Each vendor at the market is required to have insurance for the business, and also have the market as an added insured. The market also has insurance. So if Reckless was involved in the fender bender during her working hours, I wonder if liability can fall on her employer also. She is an employee for the booth next to me and I own my business. With her employer having insurance and the market also having insurance, I wonder who my insurance company would pursue, if Reckless can’t pay.
The last I heard from Reckless, she left a voice message that she is not trying to gaslight me and has intention to compensate me. I told her that it’s not me she is going to directly compensate. She is compensating the insurance company. They made a payment to the body shop and thus, will need to collect reimbursement from the other party. I sent her a snapshot of the estimate. No reply after that.
She did not come to the market this past weekend. Social media shows that she is traveling. Her company is at a lot of different markets and has a number of employees. I wonder if she did not give notice ahead of time to find someone (and did a last minute getaway) to work this past weekend or if they just did not have anyone else available.
So now we wait to see what happens……stay tuned.
……..Part 2……………
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