The rear glass was broken. Someone threw a pipe collar at my Fiero. It is metal but it is pretty light. That guy must have hit the glass just right to shatter it or he has quite an arm on him.
I thought it was some neighborhood kid that did it. Boy was I shocked after confronting the perp that it was a man in his 40's. The scum bag is not even man enough to state his name when I introduced myself and asked his name politely.
I called around and it looks like it will run me $250 to replace the glass. I do have glass in another car that I can use, but I have a lot of projects to do and little time, so it will be easier to just pay the $250.
Here is the police report that I filed on-line. There is no guaranty that an officer will even be dispatched to cite the guy. I would hope the police do something since I just did all the leg work for them and I have video evidence to back everything up.
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When I arrived home from work at 5 PM on 29 Apr 14, I found the rear glass on my Fiero was shattered. After reviewing my home surveillance system, I found that at 1437 hours, a green Honda 4 door vehicle, that had a primer colored right front fender, drove by and an object was thrown out of it that struck my car's rear glass. The car then parked at XXXX XXXXXX Way. The driver got out of the car, popped his hood, closed it, then walked up to the house at XXXX XXXXXXXX way.
The green Honda's license plate: Minnesota XXX XXX VIN: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
All of the above is on my surveillance video.
Today, 30 Apr 14, at 1945 hours, I went to XXXX XXXXXXXX Way and knocked on the door when I noticed the green Honda was parked in front again. I made a video recording of the ensuing conversation with the man who answered the door on his front porch. He stated the car belonged to him. He stated he, and only he was the one that drove the car the previous day. He clearly stated that he was the one driving around 2:30 PM when my glass was broken by the driver of that vehicle. He denies that he broke my window. I gave him an opportunity to settle the matter with me without filing a police report. He refused and insisted that I contact law enforcement.
The videos of both the incident and later when I confronted the vandal will be made available to law enforcement.
I am also going around and telling all of mine and his neighbors what he did. They are all just as shocked as I was that a grown man would do such a thing. There have been other vehicle vandalisms in the neighborhood. It would not surprise me if this dirt bag vandalized other people's cars too. I hope every person in the neighborhood gives him the stink eye and that we can drive this scum out. We don't need neighbors like this.
Wow. That is terrible. Hopefully the surveillance system is about to pay off for you and your neighborhood though. I don't think its possible to tee it up better for the boys in blue...
Awesome that you got it on video! Can we see the video? Post it online. Post it on FB! Please? Also what pray tell is this wonderful D-bags name? One could find out easily enough through public records I suppose. I wanna send him a nice friend request.
I keep telling myself, "No self respecting man would touch another man's stuff". But IDK if this is true anymore. I mean people just love to Eff with other peoples stuff. Till they have to pay, then it's a different story.
Can you actually see his arm in a throwing motion and the piece coming from the window? Is it possible the object was kicked up by a tire? I have seen a turtle of all things get run over by a truck and it nicked it just right that it shot off into the woods like a rocket! If you can see his arm moving and the object coming from his arm and window, I'd make a copy to show him and see what he says then.
There is no guaranty that an officer will even be dispatched to cite the guy. I would hope the police do something since I just did all the leg work for them and I have video evidence to back everything up.
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Its their job so they should. Otherwise what good are they.
Are you turning this in on your insurance? If so make sure to share the evidence with the insurance company, they likely would go after him for monetary damages.
I considered that as well. The object that struck my window is not the kind that would fly out with the trajectory and force needed to hit my car's rear glass. It is a collar that is on sink pipes used to cover the hole in the wall.
Also, things that are shot out from under tires tend to go to the side. This one travelled almost parallel to his direction of travel. It was clearly thrown.
The video did not capture any throwing motion. It is not that high of resolution. 640 X 480 video with the action at 30' away.
Once the police investigation is done, I'll post the videos online.
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Originally posted by Lambo nut:
Can you actually see his arm in a throwing motion and the piece coming from the window? Is it possible the object was kicked up by a tire? I have seen a turtle of all things get run over by a truck and it nicked it just right that it shot off into the woods like a rocket! If you can see his arm moving and the object coming from his arm and window, I'd make a copy to show him and see what he says then.
...a green Honda 4 door vehicle, that had a primer colored right front fender, drove by and an object was thrown out of it that struck my car's rear glass. The car then parked at XXXX XXXXXX Way. The driver got out of the car, popped his hood, closed it, then walked up to the house at XXXX XXXXXXXX way.
The green Honda's license plate: Minnesota XXX XXX VIN: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
All of the above is on my surveillance video.
Must be a helluva zoom on that security camera to have recorded the VIN.
Seriously though, how did the video capture where this b*st*rd parked? Did your camera just happen to be aimed down the street towards the guy's house? If so, the guy must be a complete nutcase to be pulling antics like this with immediate neighbors.
I hope the police do something worthwhile for you and charge this ass with something that sticks.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-01-2014).]
Also, things that are shot out from under tires tend to go to the side. This one travelled almost parallel to his direction of travel. It was clearly thrown.
The video did not capture any throwing motion. It is not that high of resolution. 640 X 480 video with the action at 30' away.
Once the police investigation is done, I'll post the videos online.
Shot out of the side would be true, as the turtle I saw was going away from the truck about 90 degrees as it passed. Maybe his throwing along with any speed he was traveling added to the velocity of the piece. Video would be cool to see.
I got the VIN when I walked over to the car and took pictures of it. The reason why I took a picture of the VIN is because I know of people who use stolen plates on their cars. I have had my plates stolen off of my vehicles before.
I got the VIN when I walked over to the car and took pictures of it. The reason why I took a picture of the VIN is because I know of people who use stolen plates on their cars. I have had my plates stolen off of my vehicles before.
You filed a report online...that's terrible that you can't just pick up the phone and talk to a police officer in your area. Also unbelievable that any POS would do that to a near neighbour. Hope this works out for you....glad it was just a window on the car.
I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago. I was driving an old Honda CRX for a courier job I had and it was parked on the street......about midnight I got woke up by the police......someone had thrown a padlock wrapped in a bandana through the rear window of my car. They had the guy in custody and I filled out some paperwork. They "arrested" the guy, but really only cited him and cut him loose on the spot with a court date. Even though they caught the guy and "arrested" him I still had to fix my car and hope I could recover damages. I decided it wasn't worth my time since the car was a POS and I just bought an entire replacement hatch from the junkyard for $40. So that guy gets off and the only person to see any money was the court system via whatever fine they made him pay.
What you need to do is get your car fixed and then talk to the courts about getting reimbursed through the victims compensation fund or whatever they call it. My incident happened in Colorado and there when you get fined they tack on additional fees that includes some sort of victims fund......most times these additional fees outweigh the actual fine. I remember getting a ticket in the early 90's for not having insurance and they dropped the fine, but I still had to pay ~$125 for all those fees!
Good luck and considering the expense and pain-in-the-ass factor of replacing a Fiero rear window versus my old CRX definitely fight for compensation!
Shot out of the side would be true, as the turtle I saw was going away from the truck about 90 degrees as it passed. Maybe his throwing along with any speed he was traveling added to the velocity of the piece. Video would be cool to see.
Kevin
Angle of incidence is equal to angle of reflection. Speed, contact patch, tire tread, tire inflation level, tire type, vehicle speed, etc… all play a role in how things are thrown up from the ground by tires. They don't always go to the side. I've watched rocks get shot up into the air from cars directly in front of me, and hit my windshield, with no way to avoid the rock, plenty of times. Saying for certain that some object, were it laying in the road, and had it been kicked up by any random car passing by, would go flying at a 90 degree angle from the direction of the vehicle, is pure speculation.
I considered that as well. The object that struck my window is not the kind that would fly out with the trajectory and force needed to hit my car's rear glass. It is a collar that is on sink pipes used to cover the hole in the wall.
Also, things that are shot out from under tires tend to go to the side. This one travelled almost parallel to his direction of travel. It was clearly thrown.
The video did not capture any throwing motion. It is not that high of resolution. 640 X 480 video with the action at 30' away.
Once the police investigation is done, I'll post the videos online.
You can't see the guy's arm swinging to throw something out the window, but you can see a small metal collar flying through the air fast enough to break the rear glass on a Fiero, and the glass breaking? That's a bit surprising. Did you pick up the metal collar while wearing gloves and stick it in a plastic bag, so it could be dusted for prints by the cops?
Yeah something needs to be done. I had a bad phase when I was 16 or 17 years old where I'd start stuff with people.
But I've long outgrown that phase, and my feelings get hurt even reading about the CRX story above.
I don't know why people feel that way.
I'd still feel bad even if I vandalized his stuff out of revenge. I don't hate hondas, or even dislike them. But sounds like he's jealous you have a WAY BETTER looking car :P Why else would he do it?
Thank God for the cameras. When people tried stealing my X's accord, we called the police station direction (not 911). When they said it could take a day or so for an officer to have time... My X called 911 instead, and said "someone just broke into our car and tried to steal it". Using the word "just" and calling 911, had a cop there in 10 minutes. Luckily we didn't get in trouble for it. But we didn't have cameras or video footage to give the cop. And we didn't know who did it.
But I've long outgrown that phase, and my feelings get hurt even reading about the CRX story above.
I don't know why people feel that way.
I'd still feel bad even if I vandalized his stuff out of revenge. I don't hate hondas, or even dislike them. But sounds like he's jealous you have a WAY BETTER looking car :P Why else would he do it?
Not to hijack this thread, but for clarity on my story.......the guy who busted out the rear window of my Honda was in an argument with his girlfriend (there were 4-5 people in the group) and he was evidently so upset that he threw the padlock thing and it hit my car. I have no idea if he was aiming at my car or if it was just in the way and hit incidentally. There was a lot of yelling and screaming prior to the window incident and several neighbors had already called the police, otherwise I would have woken up the next morning to a busted window with no story behind it (like when one of my T-Tops was busted out on a Formula I owned many years ago, but that's another story).
As to the OP story.....I guess I didn't read it very well before posting.....I thought the guy was caught doing it and the police were called, etc. It sounds like you suspect he did it, but aren't necessarily sure (i.e. can't prove it). Unfortunately, you will get stuck paying for the repairs without some hard evidence this guy broke your window. That sucks big time....sorry.
You can't see the guy's arm swinging to throw something out the window, but you can see a small metal collar flying through the air fast enough to break the rear glass on a Fiero, and the glass breaking? That's a bit surprising. Did you pick up the metal collar while wearing gloves and stick it in a plastic bag, so it could be dusted for prints by the cops?
The collar is sitting in my garage. I did not handle it like a CSI detective. If they dust it for prints, they will have to eliminate mine. I doubt they will do that. I will frankly be surprised if they even assign an officer to this. That is how bad my local PD is. They just don't give a damn about property crimes. Even if there are prints on that dirty chunk of metal, it sat out in the sun for hours before I came home. I will be surprised if there are any usable prints on it.
Do you own a surveillance system? How do you know what can and can't been seen? The passengers in a car driving by are just shadows. Do you consider seeing a shadow in the vehicle "seeing" the occupants?
Yes, you can see and object strike my car. It is only a pixel or two in a few frames, but it is clearly visible.
Physicals dictates that an object thrown out of a moving vehicle will initially travel at the same speed as the vehicle plus whatever forward momentum added by the throw, if any. If the object was on the road and shot out from under the tire, it must have been one of those one in a million circumstances where it struck my window at the exact same time as the car passed. It strikes the glass at the same time as the passenger window passes. Coincidence?
otherwise I would have woken up the next morning to a busted window with no story behind it
Happened to me on October 29 a few years ago. My only guess was that the kid's parents wouldn't let them out to cause trouble on "Devil's night" (If that's actually a thing outside the goth movies). My neighbour's Jeep window, my Taurus' rear window, and a few other windows up the street. I only found out when a package came the next day.
Originally posted by Doug85GT: The collar is sitting in my garage. I did not handle it like a CSI detective. If they dust it for prints, they will have to eliminate mine. I doubt they will do that. I will frankly be surprised if they even assign an officer to this. That is how bad my local PD is. They just don't give a damn about property crimes. Even if there are prints on that dirty chunk of metal, it sat out in the sun for hours before I came home. I will be surprised if there are any usable prints on it.
Do you own a surveillance system? How do you know what can and can't been seen? The passengers in a car driving by are just shadows. Do you consider seeing a shadow in the vehicle "seeing" the occupants?
Yes, you can see and object strike my car. It is only a pixel or two in a few frames, but it is clearly visible.
Physicals dictates that an object thrown out of a moving vehicle will initially travel at the same speed as the vehicle plus whatever forward momentum added by the throw, if any. If the object was on the road and shot out from under the tire, it must have been one of those one in a million circumstances where it struck my window at the exact same time as the car passed. It strikes the glass at the same time as the passenger window passes. Coincidence?
Coincidence is very likely, yes. You're making the assumption that it was thrown, based on very poor evidence. I'm not defending the guy, if he did do it, but you seem to be convinced that he purposefully damaged your car, with only a few tine pixels. The rear window on a Fiero is not a very big target. Rather, it's quite small. I doubt the guy has the pitching arm, or accuracy, to cause that damage from a moving vehicle, to a Fiero's rear glass; based on the description you gave.
Based on your description of the events in the video, in the police report you filed and quoted in your post, it actually reads to me like he was just driving by, and maybe the collar got flung up at the magic angle and velocity to break your glass, he heard a loud "bang" noise, stopped at home, opened his hood to see if something was damaged in his car, found nothing, shrugged, and went inside. You came home to the damaged window, saw the video, and came to a conclusion to assign blame, based on circumstantial and unclear evidence. As an unbiased third party, to me, it does sound like coincidence.
If you ever do post the video, I am happy to examine it to see if I can see any evidence for assignment of blame to that person.
I do have a dash cam, but it is 1080p; a significant difference from 640x480. And I have seen a significant number of similar videos where people make assumptions of blame, based on very poor video footage.
I'm not saying that you're definitely wrong, but a calm and unbiased examination of the evidence might lead to a far different conclusion than what you've already made. I do think you roused the torches and pitchforks a bit too prematurely though, by presuming certainty that he did indeed commit a crime, and stating so to your other neighbors.
I gave him the opportunity to say that he might have hit something which broke my window. That still means he caused my window to be broken. He was evasive and belligerant. Those are not indicators of an honest person. Had he said he though he might have hit something and gave me his insurance information, it would be been over.
You assume that when he checked under his hood that he thought he hit something. Considering that both his front fenders and front hood are primered, it is also just as likely that he has mechanical issues with the car.
You fail to explain how it is that the object and car were travelling at the same speed. I am hearing hoof beats and you are saying zebras are coming.
BTW: My truck is parked behind my Fiero and my Fiero has a wing. Your magic window for something coming off the wheel is quite small.
[This message has been edited by Doug85GT (edited 05-02-2014).]
Not knowing if you have a one way street and you were parked on the left side, it would have been pretty difficult for a driver to throw something out the passenger window and hit a predetermined target. I feel for you because a rear glass isn't an easy thing to replace. Not like it's out in the open like the front windshield. Does your video show the moment of impact corresponding with the moment his vehicle passed?
In most states, if something is in the roadway and is picked up and thrown by the tires of a passing vehicle, that vehicle isn't responsible for damage done.
Angle of incidence is equal to angle of reflection. Speed, contact patch, tire tread, tire inflation level, tire type, vehicle speed, etc… all play a role in how things are thrown up from the ground by tires. They don't always go to the side. I've watched rocks get shot up into the air from cars directly in front of me, and hit my windshield, with no way to avoid the rock, plenty of times. Saying for certain that some object, were it laying in the road, and had it been kicked up by any random car passing by, would go flying at a 90 degree angle from the direction of the vehicle, is pure speculation.
Don't forget about the shape of the object. If the object is pinched by the tire it pretty much only has two ways to go, both perpendicular to the tire (aka about 90 degrees). About the only way a turtle is going to get launched from a tire is if it is pinched by that tire on the side. If ran over directly, no more turtle. As for the rocks, they are usually getting thrown up at you because they were stuck in the tread and hurled, then you drive into them at the speed you were going. The rocks themselves have no speed to them. Pinching an object that adds velocity to it is different then kicking up an object that just brings it off the ground into the air.
Originally posted by Doug85GT: You assume that when he checked under his hood that he thought he hit something. Considering that both his front fenders and front hood are primered, it is also just as likely that he has mechanical issues with the car.
You fail to explain how it is that the object and car were travelling at the same speed. I am hearing hoof beats and you are saying zebras are coming.
I didn't assume anything. I stated it was a likely possibility. Yes, it's likely that he has mechanical issues. I merely stated a possibility of why he might have looked under his hood. If you came to my door asking such questions in such a manner of accusation, I'd probably be evasive too. Most people would. It's just how people are. Especially if you're bringing a video camera to record the conversation. People don't tend to appreciate being approached in that manner. There's a reason polygraph tests are regularly rejected in court cases.
Why do I need to explain how the object and car were travelling at the same speed? How fast was the car moving? And the object? Why are you assuming that they were travelling at the same speed? If they were travelling at the same speed, how do you know the item's speed originated from the vehicle? How can you be certain the object didn't originate off camera?
You seem to be making a lot of assumptions based on circumstance, and looking for someone to assign the blame to. I am simply making suggestions for plausible explanations as to what happened, based on what you've said in your posts. Post the video and maybe the rest of us can see something else other than what you claim to be seeing.
Also, please don't make such weird metaphorical analogies. They're not helpful.
Originally posted by Lambo nut: Don't forget about the shape of the object. If the object is pinched by the tire it pretty much only has two ways to go, both perpendicular to the tire (aka about 90 degrees). About the only way a turtle is going to get launched from a tire is if it is pinched by that tire on the side. If ran over directly, no more turtle. As for the rocks, they are usually getting thrown up at you because they were stuck in the tread and hurled, then you drive into them at the speed you were going. The rocks themselves have no speed to them. Pinching an object that adds velocity to it is different then kicking up an object that just brings it off the ground into the air.
Kevin
Indeed, but rocks get pinched too. and hitting a solid rock thrown out by a tire at 80 MPH on the interstate while also travelling 80 MPH, is a lot more destructive than something theoretically thrown out a window by hand, or even kicked up by a tire, on a residential street, at less than 20 MPH. Like I said, there are way too many variables, and way too little evidence, to make a determination of certainty, as was stated here. I'd certainly want to see the video myself, and ideally something more conclusive than was stated.
Originally posted by Doug85GT: BTW: My truck is parked behind my Fiero and my Fiero has a wing. Your magic window for something coming off the wheel is quite small.
Fastback or notchback?
The side windows are not very big on a Civic or Accord either. Throwing something out one, while driving, and hoping to hit the rear window in a Fiero, with this small an area of possible space for it to pass through, is also not incredibly likely. Is there body damage on the wing or sail panels? On your truck?
Post a picture of the object in question and pictures of the Fiero with the damaged glass?
I dont know why people always say this. Sometimes this crap happens in the best areas of town. That said, why should the victim have to pull up and move and let the criminals stay where they are. My guess, the cops will ask him if he did it, hell deny it and case closed. You have more luck with your insurance company who has to pay out. Might not go great with them either since you likely have deductible that will be higher than the repair. For me personally, revenge is the best path. Bust out his window. Dont get caught. If your not that type, file a small claims suit in court and keep all your evidence.
I hope the police do something worthwhile for you and charge this ass with something that sticks.
Perhaps I jumped the gun with that comment. In the video, if you can't actually see an object being thrown/ejected from out of the other car and not from off the road (and then hitting your rear window), it's possible that the guy is completely innocent.
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Originally posted by Doug85GT:
It was clearly thrown.
The video did not capture any throwing motion. It is not that high of resolution. 640 X 480 video with the action at 30' away.
250 to replace a rear window that is ridiculously cheap because i vaguely remember you have to remove the rear clip to do it correctly and that takes hours if not a whole day to do that job.
250 to replace a rear window that is ridiculously cheap because i vaguely remember you have to remove the rear clip to do it correctly and that takes hours if not a whole day to do that job.
Ya gotta know that for $250, the rear clip is not coming off.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-03-2014).]
Or possible he chunked it at your truck and missed and hit the car. thats a more likely turn of event. either way ,if i was accused of damage like that i wouldnt be evasive or rude, i would want to go look at the damage and certainly ask what made you suspect me of doing it, thats only natural that you want to know that. either way the damage is done and hope something is done to help recover what your going to be out replacing it.
(just a thought) Since it was in your driveway parked does it fall under your home owners insurance? i knocked my side window out on my truck when i was mowing the yard and my home owners policy covered it. something to think about. Any ways Good Luck with it
250 to replace a rear window that is ridiculously cheap because i vaguely remember you have to remove the rear clip to do it correctly and that takes hours if not a whole day to do that job.
Sacramento Auto Glass and Mirror. They have really good on-line reviews. The lady that answered originally quoted me $205 but then admitted that she made a mistake after speaking to one of the installers. I asked her what the real price is and she said $256. I am willing to pay them the full price even though she was going to just charge what she initially quoted. No work was started and I did not bring my car in yet.
I consider it relative cheap all things considered too.
Or possible he chunked it at your truck and missed and hit the car. thats a more likely turn of event. either way ,if i was accused of damage like that i wouldnt be evasive or rude, i would want to go look at the damage and certainly ask what made you suspect me of doing it, thats only natural that you want to know that. either way the damage is done and hope something is done to help recover what your going to be out replacing it.
(just a thought) Since it was in your driveway parked does it fall under your home owners insurance? i knocked my side window out on my truck when i was mowing the yard and my home owners policy covered it. something to think about. Any ways Good Luck with it
Robert
That is a real possibility. Both of my vehicles are parked on the street in front of my house. He may have just chucked it out at either vehicle and it just happened to hit where it did.
I find garbage, rocks and other odd things around my cars all the time that I pick up and throw away to keep up my area. I just figured they were people littering. I'm not so sure that is always the case now.
