I had five kids in my vehicle when this woman ran a stop sign and hit me. We all went to the hospital. I had to issue her a summons because New Jersey is a no-fault state: she could have killed us and all she got was a $95 ticket for failure to observe the Yield sign!
Barbara Dunn from Parsippany, New Jersey didn't so much as get an apology from this 22-year-old woman. She was hit on the passenger side and smashed in the front end of her vehicle, causing $8,500 in damages. The other woman's SUV was totaled. "The accident happened February 19th and my van is still being repaired," says Dunn.
"In municipal court this woman told the judge that she stopped, but didn't yield. If she stopped, her car would have been going slowly, but she knocked us across the intersection. My kids had bruised ribs, my daughter had a bruised collarbone and I had to have an EKG.
She told the judge that she had sun glare in her rearview mirror. The judge said 'I've had that happen to me too.' I couldn't believe the judge would say such a thing! Then I went back to the scene of the accident and drove down that road at the exact same time she did, the same weather circumstances, and there is no glare at that time of the day.
I am upset with our judicial system's techniques.
The police arrived at the scene of the accident and got us two ambulances. I asked them if the woman was OK. Her airbag deployed and she walked away. I went back to the police officers the next day and found out that she wasn't issued a summons. She didn't even ask about the kids, if they were OK.
I hope she can live with herself now that she sent six people to the hospital and she lied about the accident. She didn't even say sorry.
At the trial, she saw me and said, 'I don't understand what you want from me.'
'You heard five screaming kids in that car, you were right up against us and you didn't even ask if they were hurt,' I replied.
She just started crying and walked away. I guess guilt is a terrible thing.
It was an accident; I just want her to admit she was wrong.
I'm confused with the law. If you are caught driving while impaired, you will get a summons. If you hit someone, you don't get a summons. It was my word against hers, nobody saw her hit us. Because of the accident, my lower back is out of alignment and my knee is bothering me. My daughter's collarbone is slowly healing. Because of no-fault insurance, we have to go through my medical insurance and there have been countless visits to the doctor. But this isn't about money or medical bills - I feel that we were dealt a very severe injustice.
How she could get away with this accident is beyond me."