Claim No.: AB_ABC123456 / [SS] = Speaking Simultaneously
Date Of Interview: 2/6/2007
Page 1 / [TD] = Tape Damage
Q: Jane Smith
A: Fred Jaffe [SP]
A: Yeah.
Q: OK, this is Jane Smith with Smith Insurance. Today’s date is February 6th, 2007. The time is approximately 9:25 a.m. That is Pacific time. Um, do you understand that this is being recorded and do I have your permission to do so?
A: Yes, ma’am.
Q: OK, please state your full name.
A: Fred E. Jaffe
Q: OK, um, Fred, is the, when was the date of loss?
A: What is . . . [SS] . . .
Q: When did the accident happen?
A: Uh, it was yesterday, um, what was the date yesterday?
Q: OK.
A: The . . . [SS] . . .
Q: The . . . [SS] . . .
A: . . . 5th.
Q: . . . the 5th?
A: The 5th of January.
Q: OK, about what time?
A: It was about, let’s see, it was about, uh, I want to say 9:30. I’m not exactly sure on that. [SS] . . .
Q: Is that . . . [SS] . . .
A: I want to say around 9:30.
Q: A.m., right?
A: Yeah.
Q: How was the weather at the time?
A: The weather was, it was a little bit brisk, a little bit cold, but besides that, I mean . . .
Q: It wasn’t snowing or anything, right?
A: No, no snow.
Q: OK. What street were you on?
A: Uh, I was, uh, turning from the Truck-, Truckner Condominiums. I was turning from out of there. Like the closest, uh, like exit or entrance to the office, to the main office ‘cuz I just went there to see a friend. And, uh, to actually take care of another like article that they had put on my door, and I was leaving, so . . .
Q: OK, so you were at the, uh, in the parking lot at the time? Were you pulling out to a main en-, you know, street, avenue?
A: Uh, well I was pulling out onto Denver Road. That’s . . . [SS] . . .
Q: OK.
A: . . . uh, that’s right off, so . . .
Q: OK. So tell me what happened once you, you were stopped at the stop sign or stoplight to pull out.
A: OK, I was just stop-, well it’s not a stop sign, but you know, I was just pulling out onto Airport Road from the employee housing, so . . .
Q: OK, there’s n- . . . [SS] . . .
A: . . . on there, just stopped, getting ready to pull out left and . . . [SS] . . .
Q: OK, there’s no traffic device?
A: Uh, what’s that?
Q: There’s no traffic device, there’s no light, no stop sign?
A: Oh, no, there’s not. Uh, there’s, uh, there might be a stop sign, but I’m pretty sure there’s not ‘cuz it’s just pulling out of like some apartments. I don’t know if that had a stop sign or not. But I was stopped, regardless, I guess.
Q: OK.
A: And I was loo-, I looked left. There was no one coming. And I looked right and I saw the car, I saw the car pretty far like pretty far down the road. I made the turn a thousand, I made the left there a thousand times out of there, so . . . [SS] . . .
Q: Hold on, I want you to slow up, though. You saw the car?
A: Right.
Q: What lane was that car in?
A: It was in the left lane . . . [SS] . . .
Q: OK.
A: . . . going . . .
Q: . . . and how far down was that car?
A: The car was pretty far down. Like I don’t know, uh, how to exactly describe it. It was, it was pretty much like not even, I don’t think it was even close yet, and it’s a pretty long stretch and . . . [SS] . . .
Q: All right, can you tell me by car lengths?
A: Uh, by car lengths? [laughs]
Q: Yes.
A: It’s a lot of car lengths [laughs] so . . . [SS] . . .
Q: OK.
A: . . . I cannot do that. [laughs]
Q: Could you tell me by blocks?
A: By blocks?
Q: Yeah.
A: Yeah, that’d probably be easier. I’d say it had to have been at least three blocks down, if not more.
Q: OK.
A: If I’m, if I’m being correct with block terminology, I guess, but . . .
Q: OK, now how were the roads at the time? Were they clear, were they wet, snow?
A: There were a little bit snowy, I mean, they don’t do a very good job cleaning them off, but I’ve got used to it. I mean, this is how it’s been the whole time I’ve been here in Truck, so.
Q: OK, so all right, so you’re stopped and you see this car way down there, and then what happened?
A: So I figured I have plenty of time to make a left turn. I’ve done it a thousand times. So I started making a left turn. My tires switched just a tiny bit. They caught. I was going straight on the road and I started to pick up speed, you know, like going 20, 25 miles an hour. Next thing I knew, smack in the back of me, so . . .
Q: OK, so . . .
A: And it was pretty, I was already, you know, down on that road pretty far, so like I was down, there’s like a turn thing that comes up. Like it’s really weird like I don’t know exactly how long it is, but you get to this like turn thing and I was already all the way down there like and when I got hit, and I turned into it, so we can get out of the way, you know, of traffic and stuff.
Q: All right . . . [SS] . . .
A: So . . .
Q: . . . yeah, and I understand what you’re saying, but please be, you know, um, aware that I’m not familiar with the area, so . . . [SS] . . .
A: Right, yeah.
Q: . . . let’s, I want to go back just a little bit . . . [SS] . . .
A: Well like . . .
Q: . . . is there a median that you could have pulled into?
A: A median?
Q: Yes, ‘cuz you said you . . . [SS] . . .
A: Mmm . . .
Q: . . . made a left turn out.
A: . . . uh, well what are you call, a median, uh, I’m sorry?
Q: Did you cross . . . [SS] . . .
A: Do you . . .
Q: . . . any lanes when you pulled out of the parking lot?
A: Well, uh, I mean, uh, when I pulled out of the parking lot, it’s, it’s a two, it’s a one-way each way.
Q: OK.
A: There’s no medians and it’s a one-way each way. So I pulled across, you know, the other lane that goes, you know, the other way and I went left, so . . . [SS] . . .
Q: Right.
A: . . . I just went acrossed out of the . . .
Q: OK, there was only one lane that you could pull into, correct?
A: Yes, one lane.
Q: OK. So when you started going across, how far away was that truck?
A: When I started going across how far . . . [SS] . . .
Q: Yes.
A: . . . away was the truck?
Q: Yes.
A: Uh, it was still pretty far down the road. I mean, I, in, in my opinion, I believe they were speeding but, I mean, this is just, it was still pretty far down the road, I mean. And then obviously, he told me, uh, he, the kid, uh, was pretty young that was driving the other car, sort of told me that he just slammed on his brakes and they locked up. So obviously, no one was paying attention in his car. I mean, I don’t know, so . . . The only thing I’m trying to figure out is how this isn’t both people’s fault when, you know, but I don’t know, we’ll see.
Q: OK, well we’re, we’re trying to determine that, OK? So . . .
A: I could understand if it was just me pulling left out and getting hit, you know, not even, you know, like making the turn, but I got the whole turn, I was going straight in that lane for a good like four, like four seconds, three, four seconds, and I got hit, so . . .
Q: OK. But didn’t you tell me that the roads were snowy? Did you allow that gentleman enough time to slow up or to stop?
A: Well I mean, I don’t know, that’s [laughs] that’s all, I mean, I, I have no clue, I mean that’s, I’m just telling you what happened, you know?
Q: OK.
A: That’s all I’m telling you, so . . .
Q: When the police came, what, what was said?
A: What was said was he, first of all, he was the one who started talking first. He just started talking, didn’t give me a chance, but, I mean, I guess it’s got to go one way. It’s a one-sided story’s got to be told first and he told his side of the story. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but, uh, then I told my side of the story and the female police officer, who was taking my side of the story, did not catch, the first time, she misheard what I said or she wasn’t listening, either way, uh, but, um, she said that I said when I looked right, that I didn’t see any car down there, which I did s-, I told her that I specifically saw a truck way down the road. I said that and she decided to think that I said I didn’t see anybody down there. So they wrote me a ticket for, uh, for failing to yield or whatever it was, failure to yield. And, uh, I told them I couldn’t understand how I’m getting a ticket when I got, you know, just smashed in from behind. And I was already in that lane, so.
Q: OK, what’s the speed limit on that road?
A: Speed limit is, I g-, I believe it’s 35. Uh, it switches to like 20 like a school zone and like right next to I’m not really sure, but I’m pretty sure it’s 35, uh, where . . .
Q: OK, where the accident happened?
A: I’m pretty sure but, I mean, it’s weird ‘cuz you’ve got school lines that say 20 and I believe school is in session, so I’m not really sure.
Q: OK.
A: That was never discussed with the . . . the police officer never said anything about that, so, uh . . .
Q: How fast was the other vehicle going, do you know?
A: Uh, from what he said, 30, but I know that’s not true because there’s no way I could have saw him down that far and for him to, you know, come smashing into my car, there’s no way he was going 30. He had a big truck, you know, that good traction, so . . . [SS] . . .
Q: OK.
A: . . . I’m sure he was going over 30, like probably around 40 something, is my guess.
Q: Do you wear contacts or glasses?
A: Excuse me?
Q: Do you wear contacts or glasses?
A: No, uh, no, ma’am, I don’t.
Q: OK. Did you have any passengers?
A: No, I didn’t.
Q: Were there any witnesses outside the vehicles?
A: Um, no, but he had a, there was a bunch of people in his car. There was no one in my car, so I don’t know.
Q: So the police came and you were cited for failure to yield?
A: Yes, ma’am.
Q: Did you debate that with the police officer?
A: Well I just, I just tried to, you know, politely ask how I was getting a ticket from getting smashed in from behind. I was trying to figure out how I was getting the ticket. And they, they decided to tell me that because I told them that my tires slipped, which every time you take that left turn, it doesn’t matter what car you have. Anybody I’ve talked to about yesterday told me that your tires are gonna slip for a second, I mean, that’s just how the turn is, but yeah, the thing is, my tires caught and I was, you know, driving on that side of the road, so I don’t know, I . . .
Q: Do you think that you allowed that vehicle enough time to slow down?
A: Yes, I do, I do think I allowed it enough time to slow down because you have to be aware in driving in these conditions, everybody does. I’ve been, I mean, I’m from Detroit and I drive in conditions worse than this, so, I mean, I think I did give them enough time, yes, to see me and slow down.
Q: All right, OK, and what color is their vehicle?
A: Their vehicle? I believe it was like a dark, God, I want to say it was a, uh, dark like, a dark color of some sort, like I guess brown or I don’t know.
Q: What color is . . . [SS] . . .
A: And it looked like . . . [SS] . . .
Q: . . . your vehicle?
A: Distracted at the moment, if you could, I mean . . .
Q: What color is your vehicle?
A: Silver.
Q: Did you have your seat belt on?
A: Yes.
Q: Airbags deploy?
A: Uh, air, airbags didn’t deploy. I was hit from behind so I don’t know, nothing deployed, so . . .
Q: OK. Was your visibility restricted in any way?
A: No, my car was all wiped down. There was nothing on the windows, so . . .
Q: Was anybody injured?
A: Uh, no one was injured, nope.
Q: OK. Any comments made to each other after the accident?
A: Um, well I, I was in shock and he tried to, he tried to calm me down, even though he’s way younger than me, and he really had no clue what happened, it didn’t seem like. But yeah, he tried to calm me down, but I was just freaking out. I called my mom up and just trying to figure out like, you know, what I should do, I mean, but . . . [SS] . . .
Q: Did . . .
A: . . . I told my mom the story, but I don’t know not much really said between me and him, not really. I mean, he tried to say sorry to me or something, but I don’t know.
Q: Who do you feel is at fault for the accident and why?
A: I feel, I feel that he’s at fault for not paying attention and I feel like that I should have gave him more time, but I still feel like he was at fault, just as much as I was at fault, so. I mean, I was in that lane. I feel like that if I got in that lane . . . if there’s someone going too slow in a lane, I mean, what do you do, I mean, that happens? There’s people that go under the speed limit, so I mean, that’s just something I feel like he had plenty of time to slow down and he was just going way too fast, so that’s my side of it.
Q: OK. All right, did you understand all my questions?
A: Yes, I understood all of them.
Q: And were all your answers true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
A: Yes, they were.
Q: Do I have your permission to turn the recorder off?
A: Yes, you do.
Q: OK.
Transcript ID: 111111