Random destructive rampage!

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Friday evening around 6:30 pm (6-25-2010) I was at the local Outback Steakhouse having some food when someone went crazy out in the parking lot.

This psychopath (who was supposedly on some type of drugs, according to a female passenger in the back seat of the vehicle with him) went on a rampage in his Jeep Grand Cherokee after he got mad at a slow driver on the main street next to the restaurant. He turned off that road (using the entrance into the shopping center) and instead of heading down the entrance way to the main parking lot he went over the curb and thru the grass heading toward the Outback parking lot. There's ruts thru the grass where he was spinning his tires the whole time, those ruts led right to my truck which was parked in the furthest possible parking spot from Outback.

He ended up smashing into the passenger side rear corner of my truck caving in the whole front of his truck up against the front wheels and causing his Jeep to spin around 90 degrees to his original direction of impact. What's even more amazing is that the impact moved my 8500 lb Longbed Dually Crewcab Diesel F350 Pickup truck 5 feet from it's original location - with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that weighs about 1/2 what my truck does!

But this maniac was just getting started, he then backed away from my truck and smashed into the tree that was now immediately right behind his Jeep. It was such a tight fit that he repeatedly went back and forth smashing into my truck and the tree trying to free his vehicle - at this point the woman in the back seat bailed out of the Jeep and nearly got crushed by this guys actions. Luckily a big guy who was in the parking lot had run over and grabbed the woman from getting hit and actually threw her up into the back of my truck's bed. The idiot driver then broke free and plowed into the big guys Ford Expedition parked about 40 feet away, he backed up, then hit it again, and again, and a 4th time in the side of that SUV. After that he shot across the lot about 50 feet and plowed into a Toyota Camry, then looped around and smashed into the back of an Audi across the isle. Finally the impact with the 4th vehicle apparently broke something in the drive line of the Jeep and it would no longer move - though he was shifting back and forth like a mad man trying to get going again. My truck was probably the oldest being a 2003, I believe all the other vehicles that he hit were newer than mine.

At this point the big guy in the parking lot got to the Jeep and made sure the driver wouldn't be going anywhere by firmly grasping onto this morons neck with both hands!

Eventually an employee of the restaurant (who knew it was my truck that got hit) came and told me about the chaos outside. By the time I got outside there were 5 squad cars and about 30 people out in the parking lot. As I got to my truck I saw the trail of antifreeze on the ground from the Jeep, it started where he smashed into my truck and led to all the other vehicles he hit. At this point there was pretty much a mob that wanted some time alone with this guy, in fact I overheard several people telling the cops they could let this guy out of their car and the cops could just leave and the group would deal with this guy!

To make things worse this all happened on private property and the driver was from Wisconsin which didn't have a mandatory vehicle insurance law up until just a few weeks ago, that law just went into effect on June 1, 2010 - at this point no one knows if this guy had insurance on this vehicle or not. I was also told by my insurance company today that since his actions were intentional that no insurance carrier (they know of) would cover any of the damage to his vehicle or the other four.

According to the article in the newspaper the guy was charged with Reckless Driving and 4 counts of FELONY criminal damage. Even his girlfriend in the front passenger seat went to jail due to outstanding warrants for....driving offenses....go figure!

The estimate right now sits at $5300 damage.

You just can't fix stupid!

[spyderchick]

Doesn't comprehensive insurance cover intentional damage by another driver? What would they have covered if the guy would have lit it on fire instead?

And yeah, Wisconsin finally got wise and requires peeps to have insurance. I'll bet this ass**** didn't though.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

I should rephrase that, HIS insurance (if he has it) will not be covering anything (on his or other vehicles) due to all of it being intentional damage by this idiot.

My insurance is immediately covering the $5300 worth of damage minus my $500 deductible. They (State Farm) will then be going after him to cover those costs and will repay my deductible 1st with any money recovered. About 3 months ago I was in my 1st accident ever, another idiot plowed into the back of my Corvette while I was sitting at a red stop light (I had been sitting there stopped for about 20-30 seconds), that resulted in a gash on the top of my head and $2300 in damage to the car. State Farm immediately covered the repairs on the car minus the $500 deductible and reimbursed me for that a couple weeks later when they got paid by that guys insurance.

Needless to say this is a whole different situation with all the damage being intentional, I can also imagine that with 2 claims in such a short time that my rates are going to be going up even though neither situation was my fault. 

[Gixxerblade]

That'll buff right out! Glad nobody got hurt.

[Russell2566]

Heck I can't believe there wasn't more damage that's crazy.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Heck I can't believe there wasn't more damage that's crazy.

When I found out that my truck took the hardest initial hit I was suprised there wasn't alot more damage, especially after moving my truck 5 feet. I think it had alot to do with the hitch reciever assembly behind the bumper being tied directly to the frame and creating a rigid box structure. Jeep Grand Cherokee's are not a full frame vehicle, they're a combination partial frame and unibody construction, I believe that's why the front of his vehicle crushed like it did while mine transfered alot of the force into the full frame of the truck. I think some of the force may have also been absorbed by a tree that the side of his Jeep bounced off of as his vehicle was spun sideways from the impact with my truck.

[KBOlsen]

Note to self:  If you see Mike's truck in a parking lot, eat down the street :)

Holy biscuits!  Jaw-dropping HOLY BISCUITS!

Hoping it all works out...

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

The Police finally released the info about the driver, it was in a very brief article in the newspaper today (Tuesday 6-29-2010). Turns out the guy is 22 years old, from Beloit Wisconsin, and has been sitting in the county jail here in Illinois since this happened on Friday with a $75,000 bond keeping him there.

He's scheduled for a Thursday 9am court appearance, since I own my own business and have the availability to attend I'm thinking I might go and see what in the world this guy has to say to the Judge - and also what the Judge says to him.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Too bad the big guy sisnt snap the idiots neck. BTW is there a link to the story in the newspaper? I dont have much luck with searching the RRS site.


BTW it shouldnt affect your rates since you were the 'victim' in both.

[funsizeracing]

Sounds like this guy could use some chickens.  They are very therapeutic  ::)

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

BTW is there a link to the story in the newspaper? I dont have much luck with searching the RRS site.

1st article
http://www.rrstar.com/news/yourtown/x370834834/Outrage-at-Outback-4-cars-struck

2nd article
http://www.rrstar.com/news/x1609339758/Driver-who-hit-cars-at-Rockford-Outback-ID-d

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Sounds like this guy could use some chickens.  They are very therapeutic  ::)

I bet a psychologist, alot of medication, and some time in a padded room with some chickens could do wonders for this guy!