Many motorists have been there. They come out from grocery shopping or work and discover damage to their vehicle. Maybe the back bumper now has a dent in it or there is a big scrape along the side of the door. Fixing such vehicle damage is not cheap either and reporting damage that falls below an insurance policy’s deductible threshold can make the cost of an insurance policy increase.
In fact, according to the AAA Foundation, a hit-and-run crash occurs somewhere in the U.S. every 43 seconds. An average of 682,000 hit-and-run crashes have occurred every year since 2006. The AAA Foundation noted that every state has laws that make it illegal for a driver involved in a crash to flee the scene.
Surprisingly, a very acute sixth-grader from Houghten Academy in the Buffalo Public School District situated in the Kaisertown neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, is well aware that hit-and-run accidents are illegal, too.
When former college baseball player Andrew Sipowicz walked out to his car and discovered that his vehicle had been nailed, he was understandably angry.
The then student’s shiny red car’s bumper on the front driver’s side protruded out by the tire. There was a huge crease in front of the tire on the front fender and the section above the headlight dented inward. Paint was scratched off his red car in many places.
But the telltale clue was yellow paint streaked along the red car.
It turned out that a big yellow public school bus had hit Sipowicz’s car and the bus driver shockingly hadn’t stopped to contact the police and report the incident. So a very brave passenger whose bus stop isn’t too far away took matters into her own hands.
Sipowicz was so grateful!
“Shout out to the anonymous 6th grader for saving me a couple thousand (Bus not drawn to scale)”
She not only left a note providing Sipowicz with relevant information, she drew a photo of the bus, too!
“If your wondering what happen to your car. Bus: 449 hit your car. It stops here everyday to drop me off. At 5:00pm. What Happened? She was trying to pull off and hit the car. She hit and run. She tried to vear over and squeeze threw but couldn’t. She actually squeezed threw. She made a dent and I saw what happened. Sorry. Driver seat left door. A lady in the bus driver seat 999.
Buffalo Public School Bus. A 6th grader at Houghten Academy”
Sipowicz was so thankful that the sixth grader tipped him off to what really happened to his vehicle that he made sure to find this future private investigator or police officer and express his gratitude.
“Update: The student who wrote the letter has been found and we’re in the process of finding a way to reward her for her actions. Very grateful for what she did.”
He shared his plight on social media and people’s responses to the hit-and-run accident — and the student’s note — were awesome!
One user was hilariously impressed with the sixth grader’s penmanship.
Another Twitter user shared her story and commended the sixth-grader for being a Good Samaritan.
Not only was the sixth-grader very mature and responsible for reporting the incident, but the note itself was simply adorable. Kudos to her!
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