Stopped at a red light, Al Hall said he felt three jolts—the first when another driver rear-ended him.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – If you’re involved in a non-injury crash on an Omaha street and call 911, police may not respond. One Omaha driver believes that policy allowed the person who hit him to avoid accountability.
Stopped at a red light, Al Hall said he felt three jolts. The first came when another driver struck his car from behind.
“Boom like that and I went right in the middle of 108th and Maple Street,” Hall said.
The second jolt came when he called 911.
“They said they’re too busy and they’re only going to come out for bad accidents so no one comes out and they said you must go online and make a claim if no one’s hurt in this accident,” Hall said.
Under current policy, if vehicles are out of traffic and both drivers are cooperative, officers typically do not respond to minor accidents.
“Minor accidents we don’t respond to in order to make sure there are enough officers to respond to the higher priority calls,” said Ofc. Michael Pecha of Omaha Police.
Insurance proves invalid after crash
Hall and the other driver exchanged information at the scene. Although police did not arrive to verify the collision, the other driver provided proof of insurance showing coverage through July 3.
But Hall soon discovered another issue.
“She didn’t pay her premium in February or March,” he said.
The insurance company later informed Hall that the claims agent could not verify active coverage.
“I think the police should talk to her about a ticket, about getting a ticket for no insurance,” Hall said.
Police said they can still investigate after the fact.
“We find out after an accident that a person has lied and maybe they don’t have insurance, then if you call the telephone reporting service that information will be forwarded to our traffic unit and they will follow up and they can issue citations,” Pecha said.
Hall has insurance, but after factoring in his deductible and depreciation, he expects to pay about $2,000 out of pocket.
“That’s out of my pocket and she hit me,” he said.
Although he received the other driver’s phone number to pursue a settlement, he has been unable to reach her.
“The phone is blocked,” Hall said.
After filing a police report, Hall hopes the other driver will respond to contact from an Omaha Police traffic investigator.
Hall said he had a passenger and his dog in the car, but fortunately, no one was injured.
Tips for non-injury accidents
Police and insurance officials recommend the following steps after moving to a safe location:
- Use your phone to take photos of damage to both vehicles and license plates
- Capture images of the other driver’s registration and proof of insurance
- Collect as much information as possible calmly to avoid confrontation
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