So I was coming back to Lafayette from Houston Sunday night. I was driving in the far left lane on I10. There was a truck about two car lengths ahead of me. A blazer in the middle lane decides to shoot over in between us, leaving less than a car length between the blazer and the truck. That also left a car length between the blazer and my car. Immediately when the blazer gets over traffic comes to a complete stop. There was a truck broke down (IN THE LEFT LANE OF I 10!!!) a few cars ahead of everyone involved in the wreck. The blazer runs into the truck and I run into it. I did not hit it and push her into the truck. There was no way for me to back off in the time it took for her to get over and then slam on breaks. If she hadn't had hit the truck and stopped all of a sudden, I would have had enough room to stop my own vehicle.
My car and the blazer have to be towed. My bumper, hood, etc were damaged and it's leaking antifreeze. The Blazer's front end is caved in from hitting the truck. It was also leaking oil. The truck had a few scratches on the bumper. Cops get there and get the vehicles towed off the road ASAP. I didn't get a chance to get the Blazer's insurance. Once we get to a safe destination we stop and the cops talk to everyone. Long story short the cops find the blazer at fault and issue the driver a citation. Driver of the blazer also hurt their foot and are being tended to by the paramedics.
Fast forward to today...my insurance calls and says they have determined that I'm at fault for hitting the blazer. That once a driver "establishes their lane" it is my job to create a safe distance. My argument is that there was no time to establish a safe distance. The blazer pretty much shot over and then slammed on breaks. She didn't have enough distance to stop before hitting the truck so that didn't leave me any room to brake. I explain this over and over and the insurance guy just keeps repeating the same thing. I'm now awaiting the police report so that I can further verify my point. Furious, as well.
Any advice on how to handle this situation? I know it's usually the "you hit someone from behind it's your fault" but in this case that is BS. I'm even more furious about it because I always leave a safe distance when on the interstate. People shoot over all the time but this was just the wrong time for the driver of the blazer to do it. If not for them I would have had enough distance to stop when the truck slammed on breaks.
Any help is very much appreciated.
My car and the blazer have to be towed. My bumper, hood, etc were damaged and it's leaking antifreeze. The Blazer's front end is caved in from hitting the truck. It was also leaking oil. The truck had a few scratches on the bumper. Cops get there and get the vehicles towed off the road ASAP. I didn't get a chance to get the Blazer's insurance. Once we get to a safe destination we stop and the cops talk to everyone. Long story short the cops find the blazer at fault and issue the driver a citation. Driver of the blazer also hurt their foot and are being tended to by the paramedics.
Fast forward to today...my insurance calls and says they have determined that I'm at fault for hitting the blazer. That once a driver "establishes their lane" it is my job to create a safe distance. My argument is that there was no time to establish a safe distance. The blazer pretty much shot over and then slammed on breaks. She didn't have enough distance to stop before hitting the truck so that didn't leave me any room to brake. I explain this over and over and the insurance guy just keeps repeating the same thing. I'm now awaiting the police report so that I can further verify my point. Furious, as well.
Any advice on how to handle this situation? I know it's usually the "you hit someone from behind it's your fault" but in this case that is BS. I'm even more furious about it because I always leave a safe distance when on the interstate. People shoot over all the time but this was just the wrong time for the driver of the blazer to do it. If not for them I would have had enough distance to stop when the truck slammed on breaks.
Any help is very much appreciated.
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