Pedestrian Accident

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mic_y

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Hi :)

Just got a call from my father, saying that he was involved in a pedestrian accident on the way home from work. He had stopped at a stop-street, and as he was crossing the intersection, a pedestrian jumped in front of his car.

My father took the guy to Diepsloot firestation, where paramedics attended to the injuries (According to my dad, nothing serious, as he was going really slowly through the interestion). There was no damage to the car.

Following this, my dad went to the Diepsloot police station to report the incident. The police took down his details, asked him to show them where the accident happened, following which he was allowed to leave.

Obviously, never having been in the situation, I dont know what the processes are. What should one do to make sure that problems do not crop up later?

Cheers :)
 
Personally I would probably try get hold of the paramedics to get a copy of the report in case the injured man tries to claim for things that never happened consequent to the accident. Whether they are allowed to provide this to you I don't know but it's definitely worth a try.
 
mic_y said:
Hi :)

Just got a call from my father, saying that he was involved in a pedestrian accident on the way home from work. He had stopped at a stop-street, and as he was crossing the intersection, a pedestrian jumped in front of his car.

My father took the guy to Diepsloot firestation, where paramedics attended to the injuries (According to my dad, nothing serious, as he was going really slowly through the interestion). There was no damage to the car.

Following this, my dad went to the Diepsloot police station to report the incident. The police took down his details, asked him to show them where the accident happened, following which he was allowed to leave.

Obviously, never having been in the situation, I dont know what the processes are. What should one do to make sure that problems do not crop up later?

Cheers :)
Click to expand...
Firstly - I'm not a lawyer and what follows is a pure guess and/or uninformed opinion. :D

Make sure you got the police case reference number. Make sure you get some kind of (written) confirmation from the police station. And make your dad write down the exact sequence of events & dates & sign it - preferably with an independent witness present and signing too.

In cases like these its all pretty fuzzy - so if the sht hits the fan then it comes down to the squishy factors. So...if he ends up standing in front of a judge its:
1) I was concerned about the pedestrian so I took him to see medical help as a first priority [here is proof]
2) I reported the incident to the police immediate [here is proof]
3) Knowing that memory of the events fade as time passes, I decided to record the details immediately [ here is proof and here is independent witness to signing on that date]

The above should put you on a strong footing...two external parties and one (claimed) record of events not subject to forgetfulness. Make sure everything is in writing & collect everyone's details.

The phrase "jumped in front of his car" is particularly alarming though - desperate people try wild stuff occasionally to score a payment either from your insurance or the RAF. I'd try to keep your dads insurance in the loop...nothing hectic, but again make sure its provable that you communicated the relevant factors to them.
 
mic_y said:
Hi :)

Just got a call from my father, saying that he was involved in a pedestrian accident on the way home from work. He had stopped at a stop-street, and as he was crossing the intersection, a pedestrian jumped in front of his car.

My father took the guy to Diepsloot firestation, where paramedics attended to the injuries (According to my dad, nothing serious, as he was going really slowly through the interestion). There was no damage to the car.

Following this, my dad went to the Diepsloot police station to report the incident. The police took down his details, asked him to show them where the accident happened, following which he was allowed to leave.

Obviously, never having been in the situation, I dont know what the processes are. What should one do to make sure that problems do not crop up later?

Cheers :)
Click to expand...

Technically, it's illegal to leave the scene of an accident, which from the sounds of it he did. Although if the cops didn't bring it up he may get lucky and it won't bite him in the proverbial later.
 
Icarium said:
Technically, it's illegal to leave the scene of an accident, which from the sounds of it he did. Although if the cops didn't bring it up he may get lucky and it won't bite him in the proverbial later.
Click to expand...

It's illegal to leave the scene of an accident (after the fact) if someone has been injured - SAPS has to arrive first.
However seeing as though he went and showed SAPS the scene and they okayed it, it shouldn't be a problem.
 
If the guy who your dad knocked over didn't press criminal charges then there's nothing to worry about. So all hinges on that.

Been in the situation when my wife knocked over a guy and that's what the traffic officer told us. He asked the guy "Do you want to press charges", the guy said, "no", the cop then told us there's nothing more the law can do and told us to go.
 
Nothing major is going to happen only a letter from RAF for him to confirm the incident. Thats all!
 
My dad used to handle cases for the RAF where he would check the medical files, and it became clear after a while that some people will intentionally put themselves in (minor) harms way just to get some RAF money...

It kind of sucks that people are so poor that they see this as a way to get some extra cash.
 
Thanks for all the replies people :)

I have passed on all the suggestions to my dad :)

Given where the accident happened and the conditions that JHB has had the last few days, I dont think it was intentionally done. I would suspect that the pedestrian just got tired of waiting in the rain, and started walking across just as my dad drove.
 
Icarium said:
Technically, it's illegal to leave the scene of an accident, which from the sounds of it he did. Although if the cops didn't bring it up he may get lucky and it won't bite him in the proverbial later.
Click to expand...
Thats a pretty ****ty rule if you need to take an oke to a hospital (in more serious cases). Let a man die or break the law...
 
Its a con-thing-going.

I had the same **** a few years back and in the end the guy magically got healed after having a string of injuries (according to him), jumped up and was really angry at me that I didn't give him money and take him to the hospital...

This happened in the same way:

1) No one in or around the crossing.
2) I started to pull away.
3) SURPRISE !!!!!!
4) I nicked the guy.
5) He's lying there telling me how bad he is.
6) After looking at him I see no real damage to him or the car.
7) I walk away.
8) MIRACLE !!!!!
9) He jumps up and gets really angry at me.
10) Get in car, leave.

mic_y said:
Hi :)

Just got a call from my father, saying that he was involved in a pedestrian accident on the way home from work. He had stopped at a stop-street, and as he was crossing the intersection, a pedestrian jumped in front of his car.

My father took the guy to Diepsloot firestation, where paramedics attended to the injuries (According to my dad, nothing serious, as he was going really slowly through the interestion). There was no damage to the car.

Following this, my dad went to the Diepsloot police station to report the incident. The police took down his details, asked him to show them where the accident happened, following which he was allowed to leave.

Obviously, never having been in the situation, I dont know what the processes are. What should one do to make sure that problems do not crop up later?

Cheers :)
Click to expand...
 
HavocXphere said:
Thats a pretty ****ty rule if you need to take an oke to a hospital (in more serious cases). Let a man die or break the law...
Click to expand...

You're supposed to call EMS, especially in the more serious cases. If the injured person dies or suffers complications because he was bundled onto a back seat with internal/spinal/head injuries you're going to need a good lawyer.

Not disagreeing with you though.
 
A friend of mine killed a guy on a highway. Drove home. Told police. Sold car - nothing ever came of it.
 
Reverse at great speed to see if the injured is ok, be sure not to run over them by "accident".
 
I would always not matter how small call 10111 or if someone is even complaining about a headache after a accident call ems. It covers you if the other person tries to sue later on. Not every one wants to sue you but you don't know that so better safe than sorry.

If its small I would just pull on the side of the road and call the traffic police. They will actually come to the scene take the 2 statements and say bye and they will open the police docket. Thats what they get paid to do anyways.

Don't ever try and load a injured person no matter how small into your car cause it might come back to you and then you will be the bad guy even if its your fault or not. Rather attend to the person and wait for EMS or Police
 
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