Sideswiped by police car

[kazslo]

A chicago cop recently sideswiped me as I pulled into the turn lane. They claimed they were already in the lane. Because of the length of our cars, this would have been impossible as he would have had to cross over the yellow lines before the lane begins for the accident to happen where it did. The officer that hit me told me everything was going to be fine, that I wasnt to blame, and to pull my car over after the intersection. I did so, and he moved his, and then more officers came to investigate. Thats when the above claim was stated by the officer. Because he made me move my car, the evidence of how our cars were positioned was gone, and therefore it was my word vs. the officers. There was no reason for us to move, since it was 3am and there was no traffic, but I now understand why.

I was written a ticket for failure to keep in lane (9-16-050(1)). On this ticket, he wrote that my car was a '91 toyota, when I was driving a '98 Ford Escort. He also did not mark any color on the ticket. Going on a long shot here, but could the ticket get dismissed because of this, or could the officer just amend it in court?

I was also written a Administrative Notice of Ordinance Violation for Damage to City Property. The ordinance cited on the ANOV was 8-14-120, which does not exist in city code. The municipal code that should have been cited was 8-4-120. Can I get the ANOV thrown out because of this? If not, I plan to go to court to fight the ticket, and if the ticket is thrown out, will that relinquish me of fault for the ANOV?

THANKS!

 

[CdwJava]

How did he sideswipe you if you were turning into the lane? If he was already in the lane, and your turning into the left turn lane caused you to strike him, then it would seem he had the lane.

In general, the person making the lane change will be at fault - not the party already IN the lane.

If you want to challenge the citation, take it to court. Consider hiring an attorney if you want to provide any kind of expert testimony ... but be prepared to pay a LOT of money for an accident reconstructionist. Out here they go for about $200 per hour.

- Carl

 

[kazslo]

.delete delete

 

[kazslo]

He was accellerating behind and around me in the opposite lane of traffic right before the turn lane develops in an attempt to pass, as they often do with slow drivers at night. I have a free attorney from the school who has helped me in the past, so I will have to utilize him again - I was just hoping to speed up and simplify this process by getting something dissmissed on technicalities.