[Pelican]

This morning I was at a customers home doing the stage 2 fertilizer treatment. I know I'm late, that is due to the exorbitant amount of rain we've had the past 6 weeks and is unrelated to this story.


The customer here is the same one I posted about in another thread, the one who has had several landscapers work at his place doing different projects and is way overdone. When I pulled up today, his fancy mailbox and Belgian blocks had been run over. His driveway is on a curve someone failed to negotiate.

When I say "run over", that's exactly what I mean in this case. Apparently while the offending vehicle was passing over the mailbox, a hole was punched in the oil pan and the tire flattened. There was a significant oil trail and gouge in the asphalt from the vehicles wheel leaving a clear path to follow to find the perpetrator.

My plan was to finish the fertilizing job, then follow the trail to the offending vehicle and notify the Sheriff. I figured they couldn't have gone far before the motor would let go, and the gouge from the wheel was easy enough to follow.

What I didn't expect was how short a distance I'd have to go. I located the car before the oil trail ran out, it was located just 4 houses down from my client's. The car turned into another neighborhood driveway, spilling some of my client's decorative stone on the pavement too.

Here's where it gets interesting...... the driveway the car was in is another client of mine!!!! He and his wife are both attorneys!! I've got a significant job underway there and they are a lawn maintenance account as well. What a dilemma!!

I just turned around and went about my business. The trail leading from one house to the other is easy enough for a child to follow so my client with the damage will have no trouble finding out who's responsible. My personal ethics normally would have me point my client to the one responsible for his damage, but in this case I think it would do me more harm than good. Like I mentioned, my client will have no trouble finding the one who caused his damage.

You can't make this stuff up, LOL!!!

[Fine Edge]

Some ethics. Won't even stop and fess up to the crime. Oh, wait, you said he's a lawyer, right?!!!!

[Pelican]

I was at the second client's house today working on the project I mentioned and got a close up look at his vehicle. It's the full sized Acura, and he wacked it pretty good. Both passenger tires are flat and both alloy wheels cachunked, front bumper damage and the mailbox went across the hood before going up the windshield. The hood will need replaced, and I don't know what saved the windshield, it has a number of wide scuff marks on it.

The oil pan has a gaping hole, I imagine the bottom end of the engine is trashed, and I could see some undercarriage damage as well. No one was home so there was no comment made about it, not that I'm looking for one. They are facing some major repairs to this car.

[P-Train]

Loose lips sink ships (and lose accounts). Let them handle it.

[leadarrows]

I can't imagine that being the results of anything else but drunk driving. Client or not I think I would get local law involved. Call from a pay phone if you want to stay out of it. I don't have a problem with someone driving on a few beers personally but driving away from personal property damage like that indicates a serious threat to public safety IMO.

Uh just a last thought. Do you know that the neighbors haven't already talked about this?

[Pelican]

I would think by now they have. I'm staying out of it as I said. I've talked with customer #2 and she made no mention of the damaged car in the driveway.