L.A. Can’t Drive

Idiocy Meter

Asshole Meter

Here’s a submission from a reader who did the right thing and took matters into his own hands to catch someone who not only deserved to lose his license but should now spend some time behind bars.  Thanks to him, we have one less irresponsible, dangerous driver on our roads:

“My old roommate had his ‘06 Mustang parked in front of my house. This morning (10/14/08) at about 10AM, I hear a crash and a car alarm go off. I run out and see my friend’s car smashed in and the rear of a dark gray Ram turning the corner. I hop in my vehicle and tear out after the guy.  As soon as I round the corner, I see him making a U-turn and coming back down the street with a flat tire.  I stop him and call the cops. After I get off the phone, he writes his info, illegible and very sloppy, on a napkin, puts it on the wiper, and TAKES OFF after I told him not to and him saying that he did all that he had to do. I advised him that if he left, things were gonna get way worse. He left anyway. So I’m following him down the street with his flat tire and all, and he’s veering off the road, driving in the dirt, straddling lanes, etc.  He then stops half way in an intersection, makes a left, bumps the curb, makes a right to go on the freeway, and hits the curb again.  Now we’re on the freeway going 75-80 mph.  He’s driving on the shoulder and brushing the guard rail before he loses his tire completely about a mile later.  I’m on the phone with LASD (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department) giving them updates, and luckily, there was one that just finished a stop just ahead.”

“8 miles later, they stopped him, got him out of the truck, cuffed him, and then placed him in the back of a cruiser. They determined he was high on prescription meds (forgot the name), and he hit numerous other things before he hit my friend’s Mustang. He had a suspended license, no insurance, and possibly no papers. They said he had a ticket still in the truck issued in 2006 for no insurance as well. My truck got peppered with debris from him running off the road–no damage though.”

Neighborhood Watch programs really help law enforcement catch offenders, like this would-be hit-and-run perpetrator.  Though the person submitting this post just happened to be in the right place at the right time, along with the right amount of experience on the road to do what he did, active crime watch programs in your community will not only make the streets safer but will also likely catch repeat offenders.  FYI, if you do happen to hit a parked vehicle by accident, the law requires that you right down your contact information, license plate, vehicle make and model, and insurance information and leave it in a secure, visible place for the other driver.  We can all benefit from the habit of at least writing down and phoning in the license plate of any vehicle we see performing a hit-and-run.

Filed under: aggressive, clueless, observation, speeding