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[Annie]

Dear Ladies,
I am fairly new here, and have just been lurking ing the shadows gleaning from the words of wisdom shared on these boards. I am coming to you tonight with a serious situation that has developed in our lives.
Over the weekend, an accident happened just up the road from our house, just over the crest of a hill. We were not home at the time, but noticed the truck in the ditch when coming home from another church activity on Saturday evening.
Today, the children asked about our big Saint Bernard. No one seemed to remember seeing her today, but one of the girls was "sure" she was around yesterday.
Well; later in the day, the neighbors came down and asked about our dog because they were sure our dog was lying in the ditch up the road near where the accident happened.
She was.
A while later, the grandparents of the people in the accident came and asked if our dog was the one in the accident, then went on to explain what had happened.
A lady coming from the east saw our dog in the ditch on the south side of the road. For whatever reason, she stopped her car in the road on the back side of the hill, in the rain, and rolled her window down. Dutchie responded to the lady in the car by running across the road to "greet" her. But as she was making her way across the road, the pick up came full speed over the hill. With the other car stopped in the road, there was no where for the truck to go but plowed into Dutchie and then skidded down into the deep ditch.
One of the people received relatively minor injuries, while the other had to go to a major hospital with a broken jaw, teeth knocked out, ect.
The truck was totalled.
Of course since it was our dog, we are going to be held responsible for all the damages, medical bills, and so on. The grandparents were asking some very unsettleing questions about our liability insurance coverage, whether or not we owned the house we live in...and all the while making a thorough examination of our property.
We do not have any insurance, as we do not own the house we live in. We barely keep our head above water as it is, and we are still trying to pay off our own medical bills from 4 years ago, so financially, this is going to be devastating, even if they do not try to sue us for additional damages.
The family involved is very well known in the area, and has already made a connection to our church and families with in our church, so any difficulties with this is not going to be kept quiet. The potential to do damage to the church is very real if we can't come up with the funds to take care of this, and it is truly going to have to be God's intervention for that to happen.
We have not been able to determine whether or not the lady that called the dog across the road will face any liability.
I am just sick about this, and DH is already planning how to resign from the church and cause the least amount of damage. Even if they do not sue us, we will need to have a major change in our financial status to accomodate the expense, and that is not likely to happen where we live now.
Please pray that God will work through this, and that we will not make hasty and unwise decisions as we work through this.

Thanks for listening,
Annie

[Momma-M]

Bless your heart, Anna. I am praying for you all. Claiming Ps. 40, one of my favorites. God can bring good out of this.
My friend was involved in a similar accident. They were coming home in the dark, over a hill. Right in front of them was a pick up stopped with 4 way flashers. Coming up the hill toward them some fellows had pulled a stolen dune buggy over on the shoulder with its lights on. My friend swung out between them not to crash into the pickup. They hit a drunken man crossing the road. Because of the dark and the lights in my friend's eyes they never saw him. Of course they were at fault. I think the family that hit your dog are the ones at fault legally there! They should pay the damages. If a child had run out instead of a dog would the childs family pay for their vehicle. I don't think so. It was just an accident. Their own auto insurance should pay.
Another verse you have probably thought of already...2 Tim 1:7 God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind. God is working things out already... if you see it or not yet.
* My first thought when I read your message- Your husband and family must be doing something right. Because Satan is trying to stop him.* I don't know if that is Biblical, but it was sure my first impression.

Love in Christ! Eva

[jodi]

Annie,

So sorry to hear of this horrible thing. Will be praying for you and your family and for God to give your husband wisdom as he leads you through this situation.
_________________
Jodi
Jer 32:27 Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

[kristen]

After reading about your problem, I had to write to you. Our family is in the business of medical responses. I was a little frustrated to see that these " grandparents" came to your home and started asking questions. Have you heard from the law enforcement that was on scene at the accident? They are the ones who should be asking the questions. You are not responsible for the accident. The women who stopped in the road is the responsible party.
I will pray that God would give you peace about this.
_________________
I enjoy this sight so much. I look at it daily

[Annie]

Thanks for the prayers and responses about this twist in the road for our family.
To answer Kristin's question, "No" we have not been contacted by the State police officer who handled the accident. My husband has left messages for him, but we have heard nothing back. So we have not even been able to see a copy of the accident report to see if it says what the grandparents told us.
And yes, we were also frustrated that the grandparents came and made such a visit making the insinuations that it was our fault. They even made a point to tell us how traumatized the "poor lady" is who called to our dog and witnessed the accident.
But anyway, we have contacted an attorney for advice. DH called a personal injury attorney to see how a lawyer on the injured party side of the fence would view our case.
The attorney actually laughed at DH and asked him if he were pulling some kind of prank!!
But on the serious side, the attorney did say that they could sue us if they could find an attorney that would make the attempt. He said that he personally would not take such a case unless they paid all the fees up front, because he doesn't see a way to win - at least against us - based upon the information that we have. (Now the lady that called the dog is another matter...)
However, should they find an attorney and try to sue us, he said we would definitely need to hire an attorney to make the proper defences, and of course that would all be at our expense - even if they lose. Sooo...we are not dwelling on that possibility right now.
Ironically, if we try to make contact with any of the victims, even to see how they are doing, it could legally be looked at as an admission of guilt or responsibilty in the matter - which could open up a major can of worms for us! So he said to sit down and shut up. Don't make a move unless they make the first one.
We will just have to wait and see how it all works out. At this time, our main concern is with the rumor and gossip mills that run rampant through small towns and churches. This could be very trying for us personally and also for the church if they feel we have not been responsible enough in handling the matter. We feel a bit trapped in it all right now.
Thanks again for the prayers. I will update you as the situation takes shape.
Annie