Drunken Idiots...

[CatsDieNow]

Well, some knuckleheads drove their car into my tree last night around 11PM.  If the tree han't been there, they would have drove into my front bedroom.  It will probaly die too due to the amount of bark that came off.

Somehow, they also managed to do a donut while tearing up my yard and leaving all their oil in my driveway.  Fortunatly, my neighbors called the police and made sure that the losers stuck around to do a meet and greet with the police.  

Now the scary part is that I was home and awake.   Somehow, I completely missed an accident and the ensuing emergency vehicle party in my front yard.  I am grateful that my neighbors took care of things (although I wish they'd have rung the doorbell), but I can't believe I was oblivious to the whole thing.

[mtnbkr]

It will probaly die too due to the amount of bark that came off

As long as the trunk isn't ringed, it should survive.  I've seen two trees that lost bark after a vehicular impact survive.  One of the trees was hit so hard it now leans.

Chris

[K Frame]

Agree with Chris.

When I was in college a drunk jerk in a pick up hit one of the big maples on the main street next to campus. Beautiful trees.

It lost most of its bark on one side, but it's still there 20 years later.

[charby]

I hope they have insurance because their insurance should take care of the grass, oil on the driveway and any other other property damage you might have. Have an urban arborist come out and put a dollar value on the tree, so you have some fodder to fight with.

-C

[Art Eatman]

"But, Oshifer, I gotta drive!  I'm too drunk to walk!"

A fella in north Austintatious lived where the street made an ess-bend.  It was not unusual around drunk-thirty AM for him to have a car come through his board fence and hit this one big oak tree.  He'd hear the crash, call the cops, and then go out with a big log chain and a lock so the car couldn't be removed before he got paid damages.

Art

[K Frame]

A family in Pennsylvania near where I grew up had problems with people plowing through a similar curve and ending up in their yard, so they got some boulders and placed around the perimeter, well onto their property, though.

Late one afternoon a guy came blowing through the curve and into the boulders. Had the boulders not been there he would have probably taken out the family BBQ that was going on at the time.

He tried to sue for damages to his car, and lost badly.

[mfree]

I was on the computer one night when I heard and felt a resounding "thump". I went outside and found, through what I got told by accident reconstructors later, that two hopped-up kids had taken mommy's buick and shot off the road a quarter mile away at about 110mph, swerved a bit, hit a ditch, went flipping probably ~40' in the air, landed *in* a crabapple tree, rolled down it, and landed on all four wheels running. It might even have crept away if it weren't for two things; the chassis was flat on the ground, and the driver got his head pressed between what looked like the edge of the ditch and the roof frame. There's still a human ear in that field somewhere.

If they hadn't hit that tree it likely would have barrel-rolled into my home, there was only a hundred feet or so of flat land to go.

The kid came back several months later and apologized, then thanked me and my mother for saving his life. Particular my mother, since she took the risky move of straightening his neck when it was obvious the kid was drowning in his own blood.

[CatsDieNow]

I am looking at about a 20" diameter gumwood tree that has lost a sheet about 3 feet tall and half the circumference of the tree.  It's got a smallish gash in the bottom, too.  You guys think it might be all right?  I really like that tree (especially with the house protection it affords).  This isn't the first time it's been hit...

Also, I am going to get the police report at noon, but apparently, according to another neighbor, a significant quantity of drugs were amongst the car parts and fluids on the ground.

I am still just floored that I never noticed any of this until this morning.

[Typhoon]

Well, sometimes when you need to sleep, you really need to sleep.  I've slept through earthquakes before and a power transformer blowing up on the next block.  If you were really under a serious threat, though, I'd wager that you'd wake up plenty fast.  Think of the tree as your guardian.

[mtnbkr]

I am looking at about a 20" diameter gumwood tree that has lost a sheet about 3 feet tall and half the circumference of the tree.  It's got a smallish gash in the bottom, too.  You guys think it might be all right?

That is a pretty big chunk of bark.  I would talk to an arborist and find out if there's any protective measures you can take and if they should be taken.  If you can get in touch with one and can't find good info online, then I would get some sort of sealant intended for cut branches and paint the entire wound.  The biggest risk is from insects getting into the tree via the open wound.  

Chris

[charby]

I work with a certified urban arborist/forester and described the damage you wrote to him, he pretty much said your tree is a loss because of the size of the wound. Also said painting a tree is bad because it will harbor bacteria/fungus and kill the tree.

He recommended you call a Certified/Licensed Arborist and have him appraise the value of the tree. He also said insurance companies are a PITA to work with on getting $$$ for your tree, pretty much all the pay for is removal, stump grinding and replacing the tree with a 2" trunk container plant.

Sorry to hear about the tree.

-Charby

[CatsDieNow]

Got the police report and they arrested him for DWI, marrijauana possession, and possession of a prohibited weapon.  Took him and a passenger to hospital for the blood test.  The fool lives on the street that dead-ends into my driveway.  The insurance portion of the form was blank (neither yes or no).

Typhoon:  I was AWAKE.  I was reading in bed.  Never noticed a thing.

Charby:  Thanks for the advice - I'll look one up and see what they say.  I kinda figured this tree wasn't going to make it...

[...has left the building.]

Charby gives some good advice; trees definitely aren't cheap. You weren't like playing Diablo in trance were you?

[El Tejon]

Cats, in may be in your best interest to contact the Tarrant (I think that's where you are) County District Attorney's Office and ask to speak with the "Victim's Advocate" there.  They will likely have you fill out a restitution claim form so that your losses will be included in any future sentencing order.  The Victim's Advocate will also likely keep you advised on any future court dates of the defendant's (if you cannot follow the case online down there).

[crt360]

I was AWAKE.  I was reading in bed.  Never noticed a thing.

That must've been a really good book!

El T gives good advice.  They will probably mail you a restitution claim form, but it wouldn't hurt anything to call and ask about it.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Yeah, I was just thinking that about the book. Must have been a real page-turner...or the pictures had you interested.

My brother lost about a half dozen mailboxes out in fromt of his house on a Texas Farm-to-Market road until he decided to anchor the last one on top of a piece of 14 inch well casing imbedded in 8 feet of concrete.  One night he was watching tv and heard the most interesting shredding sound coming from the road. The kids who had been running their pickup over it had struck- and stuck- it again.  Seems they'd hit the pipe, which did not yield. Instead, the pickup came up on its' haunches and impaled itself through the floor of the cab. Still had most of the mailbox intact inside the cab beside the passenger's door.  Took a metal saw to take it off the pipe. No injuries except to drivers license, insurance and driving record.  

I'd see if the Tarrant Co. DA's office can put you in the short line for restitution.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Chuck Dye]

A San Diego resident who had three cars come through his living room wall (three different occasions) installed what must be a twenty cubic yard boulder in his yard.  No more cars have entered the house but he has been sued several times by those, and heirs of those, who have hit the whopperstopper.

[Guest]

Yrs ago, State Trooper buddy stopped by to show me his new cruiser. Had coffee in kitchen and heard gravel flying and a very solid thunk! Troop's eyes as big as silver dollars; "go see what happened. If he him my cruiser, I hope he's run off!"

Drunk missed cruiser but plowed up my front yard and hit a 3' dia oak tree across the alley. Failed field sobriety as he couldn't hit himself in ass with both hands. Went to jail needless to say, after warning not to puke in cruiser for fear of serious consequences!

[p35]

This state has a "timber trespass" law that essentially says that if you cut or destroy someone else's tree, you owe them 3X the value plus attorney fees. Originally aimed at timber thieves, but it's been applied to ornamental trees as well. Might check and see if they have such a law in Texas. Of course, big timber is to the Northwest what oil is to Texas, so we care a little more, but take a look.

[CatsDieNow]

Yup, I'm in Tarrant County - I'll go do the restitituion form today.  I'm not excpecting much since he probably doesn't have a job.

How do those large rock/solid mailbox lawsuits usually work out?  I thought that the owner can be liable because they left a "trap for the unwary" or some such.  I'd like to install a few rocks or something, every one of my neighbors' trees has been hit at least once.  The people two doors down had a loser drive through their bedroom at 6AM.

[Firethorn]

How do those large rock/solid mailbox lawsuits usually work out?  I thought that the owner can be liable because they left a "trap for the unwary" or some such.  I'd like to install a few rocks or something, every one of my neighbors' trees has been hit at least once.  The people two doors down had a loser drive through their bedroom at 6AM.

The person who built it wins, as seen by the various quotes here and elsewhere.  Ever see big poles/potted plants sitting around buildings?  They're there for the same purpose.  One good spot to look would be around gas station pumps.  Steel pipe, filled with concrete.  It's not a trap, it's a defensive structure, especially if you've had somebody plow into your house before.  There was a business that put three of them in after having their building smacked a number of times.  With a house, it's merely been dressed up.  Kinda like how most businesses use planters for their big blocks.

There's nothing in the law saying you have to have a break-away mailbox.

A rock, on your property, even a mailbox, on your property, is not a normal movement path for vehicle traffic.  Matter of fact, you might be able to sue the drunk who smacks into your rock (preventing him from hitting your house), for damaging your rock!

You'd be in trouble if you dumped it on the road.  But unless the idiot has an easement through your property, he isn't supposed to be driving there,  and it's his responsability to keep his car under control and off your property.

[caseydog]

The boulders are a better answer than the mailbox , the mailbox typically is located in the "public right of way" ( the shoulder of the street) , in most states there is some obscure statute that reads something like " objects in the public right of way should be placed so as to yield in a collision". Even if they don't contest your cement filled 6" pipe mailbox pole , that language puts the liability on you. Boulders on your property on the other hand can be explained away with " d'uuhh ,I just put them there cause I liked how they looked" .

Just a few weeks ago up here PennDot got in a big squabble with someone who had planted trees on the public right of way after some drunken putz gonged one of them , Pdot ended up fighting with a whole neighborhood group who backed the planter ,and just guiderailed the trees, the tree crew and stump grinder were on the premises when the PDot brass caved to the pressure.

Edit: the public right of way usually extends anywhere from 4' to 8' from the edge of the blacktop or the curb dependin where you live of course.
Ray

[Firethorn]

The boulders are a better answer than the mailbox , the mailbox typically is located in the "public right of way"

Then how about one of them decorative brick mailbox posts?  The one I'm thinking of curves up and over the mailbox in an arch.  Very decorative, and you wouldn't want to hit it.  Or you could claim that you were tired of the wind blowing the thing down.

As well, like you just said, the state tends to cave on the issue.  Juries tend to side with the guy who's had his box smashed a half a dozen times.

And yeah, boulders, worst come to worse, you can say that they're decorative.  I'll just point out that as long as you have them far enough from the road, you could put blocking barriers up specifically to stop cars by resisting impact and there'd be nothing wrong with it.  I've seen them around a number of public and business buildings.

You should be able to calculate how far to put them to prevent a car from entering, just remember that the car's probably going to shove even a big rock back a few feet if it hits fast enough.

[Strings]

not if the rock is cored, and set on a 2" diameter, 10' piece of rebar set in concrete...

 If you're gonna do something, you should do it right!

[El Tejon]

Holy cow, Cats.  What's going on down there in Tejas?  You are making me very glad I live on top of a hill.

Maybe some dragon's teeth along the curb are your answer?  You could decorate them according to the season.