Run Me Over, but Let Me Die Quickly

On Tuesday, I got hit by a van. I was crossing the street as a pedestrian. I know that I had the right of way because the little walk guy in the sign was all lit up. Plus the birds were chirping at me to go. Well a van decided to turn right, which I don't mind (everyone turns right on a red light). However I did mind that she decided to turn right while I was in front of her car. She smacked right into me.

It was a BYU van, driving by a BYU student. I'm sure that she was daydreaming about some boy that she wanted to marry. Maybe she had a date right after work. Perhaps she was angry at some returned missionary who had just dumped her. That seems most likely. I think I resembled him, because she ran right into me. As I walked to the curve to get out of the street, she didn't roll down her window or attempt to ask me if I was ok. I wrote done the van's plate number. Then she rolled down the window and asked, "Are you going to report me?" I answered yes, and she drove away. I couldn't believe that she would just drive away.

I proceeded to the police department to report the incident. They weren't too excited, because I wasn't bleeding or dying. That would have been much more excited for them, probably for me too. I thought that a hit and run was a serious crime, but evidently it is not when the person being hit doesn't die. I filed the report with officer Stokes. I was suprised at how fat he was. I thought that police had fitness requirements. If you want to comit a crime, then make sure that Officer Stokes is on duty. You could probably walk away from him and he could keep up with you. One note of warning though: There are police officers on BYU campus who are able to catch you, and Officer Stokes does carry a radio. As you have noticed I am a little bitter, but that is because Officer Stokes kept saying, "Well, you don't look too hurt." It was as if I was interupting his very busy crime fighting day in Provo with this dumb report that he would have to file. I do somewhat understand. Everyone hates paperwork. Also remember, I was just hit by a van. That can tend to make a person grumpy. Officer Stokes might be a great guy. I'm sure that he and I were both just having an off day.

Since the van was a BYU van, I knew that I should file a claim with BYU Insurance. I ended up calling risk management and spoke with David Lawrence. He was nice. He was shocked that the student driver didn't stop. We got the claim all filed, and he told me that if I needed to go back to the doctor to make sure that I did. I felt that he really cared. I don't know if he did or not, and frankly I don't care. He made me feel good, and that is all that matters. He also told me that BYU would be doing an investigation into the student driver to see if the school really wants to have her driving their vehicles. I liked the sound of that. I don't know if I want her fired, but I do want her scared silly. Accidents happen, but you can't run away from them!

So now, I am just waiting for all of the paperwork to go through. My wrist hurts the most. The doctor said that there is a chance that I have a hairline fracture, but I hope not. My back, shoulders, and neck are all sore, but I am alive. Plus I didn't have to go to the hospital. That is a mega-plus.