I Ain't Touching This One!

I got a call from Deb tonight. She was at work, at the mall, and heard there was some crazy person -- probably drunk -- driving around the parking lot, running into parked cars and then continuing to drive.

It's a pretty big mall. With lots of parked cars.

So...what are the odds that this idiot driver manages to hit her car?

100%. At least it is tonight.

The idiot apparently was driving around the area near the mall, in the parking lots of some of the outlying stores, hitting several cars, before deciding [if that is the right word] to enter the main parking lot which surrounds the mall building itself. And then he started cruising down the aisles, side-swiping several cars before saving the best move for last.

He ended his crime spree by slamming into Deb's car hard enough to shove it into the car next to her; it ended up with crumple zones on either side of the trunk, and the car next to her also sustained serious damage.

Then he stopped. Or was stopped. I'm not sure. He stopped driving, at least. And was arrested.

And Deb came out at some point and stared at the damage and just couldn't believe it. Then went back in to try and finish her shift with her mind completely distracted by the whole thing. The police stopped by and talked to her and gave her the case # so she could talk to the insurance folks. And then they left with the idiot in tow.

When she called me -- a bit before her shift ended -- I came out and took some pictures and cleaned up some of the broken bumper and glass and other debris. And waited for her to finish work.

I volunteered to drive the car back to our house, since it was late and it wasn't damaged enough to call a tow truck, and I really didn't want to deal with administrative overhead this late at night.

The car drove fine, other than the slight wobble of the back wheels. I was more worried that the rear brake lights weren't working and the gas tank might've been compromised. So she drove behind me the whole way, just to make sure anyone behind wouldn't get too close.

We made it home. I parked the car in the driveway in front of the 3rd bay and we called it a day. And thought to myself, "I really don't have the time or expertise to work on this. Thank goodness it's covered by insurance!"

Now we'll just have to wait for the adjuster to come by and take pictures to figure out what it's going to take to get this fixed.

I'm kinda figuring it's totaled. Too much unibody damage.

Totaled?