In February of this year, I was in a car accident. I was stopped at a light. It turned green. As normal, two cars in the opposing left hand turn went through it. I started through the light. As I was halfway through, the other car ran the red left turn light, narrowly avoided the front end of the car in the lane next two me and slammed into the side of my car.

My car was ruined. The entire front end side was caved in. My airbags deployed. I got out and went to check to see if the other driver was okay.

She was young and obviously shaken. She explained that she was looking at her phone for directions and didn't know she had gone through the red light. That changed to "thought she was okay to make it" later on. She seemed physically okay though. I called 911 and reported the accident.

Eventually the cops showed up, then the fire department. Then tow trucks. All the set pieces. I called my wife to come get me. As we waited I talked to the young woman. She was scared. She had only liability and wanted to know if that would fix her car. I explained what liability insurance was. She didn't know how she was going to get to work. Her boyfriend wouldn't come get her. She had no family.

I felt bad for her. I explained to her how to use the Phoenix Bus System. I asked where she lived and where she worked and showed her the bus routes between them. I tried to make her feel okay about it.

When the police came, she admitted her fault. We explained the accident to him. He filed his report. I got her insurance and filed a claim for my car while we waited.

Days passed. I kept calling her insurance. They kept telling me they hadn't been able to get a hold of their insured. After a week, I received a letter that my car would be forfeit if I didn't get it from the tow yard. I had no place to store it. I ended up having to file a claim on my own insurance so that I could move this forward. My car was totaled. I received enough money (barely) to pay it off.

Instead of having a car for trade in value, and a car for a few years post car payments, I ended up at square one like I was with I was 18.

I filed a DOI complaint against the adverse carrier. My insurance company said they would subrogate and, if the other insurance company was at fault, it wouldn't affect my rates.

Now, 6 months later, I received a letter from the DOI. Thankfully, its the only windows I have into what happened.

The young woman cancelled her policy, ducked calls. Her insurance company finally got a hold of her a full 14 days after I last talked to them and she lied to make it seem like it wasn't her fault. Her insurance company got a hold of the police report. It took until June before they admitted fault. They admitted fault but only paid my insurance company a portion of the cost they paid me. Oh well. It shouldn't affect my rates I guess.

I felt sorry for that young woman. Now, I don't. I hope she lost her job. I hope she lost her apartment. I hope she lost her boyfriend. I hope she's homeless, scared, alone and suffering.