My Poor Camry Got Into an Accident- Need Suggestions on Insurance and new Parts

[Structureboy]

Last night, I was driving with my girlfriend to the HEB on Wooded Acres Drive. I had gotten to the intersection between Valley Mills Dr. and Wooded Acres and was preparing to turn right on the red. I had my turn signal light on, and was waiting to see if oncoming traffic was going down the direction of the road I wanted to as well. I must have been stopped at the intersection for at least 3 seconds, when I was suddenly rear-ended from behind by a truck. Luckily, I had my foot on the brake at the time, and wasn't yielding, or else I might have been thrown into traffic. A witness who was at the McDonald's located at that intersection immediately waved me in, and I got his name and phone #. The witness stated that the other driver had been at fault, and had not braked at the sight of my car at the intersection.

The driver of the truck (mazda 1990 according to his insurance paper) didn't speak very good english, in fact i had to get him to write his name on a paper. I'm not sure if he was also high or not, but he also told me that he was an unlicensed driver. The insurance paper he provided showed that he wasn't family to the owner of the vehicle, which I thought was really fishy.


What we really peeves me about this accident is that when it occurred:
1) there wasn't any sound of emergency braking. in fact, no squealing of the tires, or an attempt to brake. It was basically without warning, he rear-ended my vehicle.
2) when he rear-ended my vehicle, there was no glare from his headlights into my mirrow. I'm not sure what kind of stupid idiot drives at night with only his parking lights on, but I'm going to get the witness to confirm if he had his headlights on or not. The conditions of the weather were drizzling rain at 6:15pm at night, so it was absolutely necessary to have headlights on.
3) after I had gotten all the truck driver's info, I had my g/f drive me to the HEB b/c I was too distraught to drive, but the other truck driver acted as if it was nothing and drove off before I did. Apparently, it's not the first time I think this has happened to him.

Damage:
-The centerpiece of my camry was shattered. There appears to be no damage to the tailights. I'm not sure how much one of these retails for, but I'd be willing to buy off someone's spare centerpiece. (93 camry)
-My rear bumper appeared to not be dented, but there were several scratches of paint from the truck's front bumper. I can try some rubbing compound to see if it'll get off, but it's probably pretty embeded in the paint. There appears to be no mechanical damage, but I will get an autoshop to check it out.


If someone would be willing to host some pictures of the damage to the car, I'd like to get a feel for how much damage ($) was inflicted to the car. I know that it's going to take awhile for me to get my car to a bodyshop b/c of the paperwork that needs to be done.


I've already filed a report with State Farm, and am hoping to get this resolved ASAP
This is the first accident I've ever been involved with, and so I've never dealt with insurance at this level. I'm quite positive that my insurance cost won't go up, b/c I was not at fault, but i'm wondering how much time this will take to resolve not only b/c of the fact that the other driver wasn't the owner of the vehicle, but that it involves out-of-state vehicles.

My biggest worry is that there are drivers like this out on the streets, without a license, and who drive recklessly. Personally, I would like to see his ass in jail, and if I had thought of it at the time, I would have gotten the police involved.
Without a license. No headlights on. No attempt to brake the truck.
I'm wondering if there's any legal action I can take to make sure that this person doesn't drive again.


Drive safe guys and gals.

[felkajamine]

eww man that sucks, i hate it for ya.....

for your image hosting problem go to http://imageshack.us you can host as many pictures as you want for free...you dont even gotta sign up.

[Super Kaioken]

get new bodykit? yeah it sucks to get into an accident. i've felt the effects of one. it really is a big hassel. take pictures though. just in case the other guy tries to lie and make new dents and or something.

[Colorado]

State Farm will take care of you. It will take some time so be patient. Take it to a body shop to ensure there is no hidden damage, especially since you had your brakes on. They will either pay an authorized shop to fix the car, or cut you a check.

[MadDawg]

make sure the body shop you goto, doesnt fraud you, and screw your car up more, and come out with a bigger price to fix it.

[CamNub]

Cliff notes?

[earthmike]

Based on the story, it's pretty safe to say you won't be found at fault. Sorry to hear it nonetheless, it's a shame no matter how you look at it. Glad you're ok.

So far as cash out of your pocket, the worst that should happen is if he's not insured, you'll have to pay an uninsured motorist deductible. And then State Farm will chase him about the deductible (but don't hold your breath, I'm still waiting on exactly that situation 7 months after the accident).

You have the choice of where to get the car repaired, if you're not comfortable with State Farm's suggestion you can take their check and go wherever you want.
--Mike