Off-duty cop claims I hit his truck, but there was no collision/damage...advice?
car accident attorney Maryland Aug 21, 2026
A month ago, I was crossing a two-lane highway (US 15) to enter a median area and turn onto the northbound side to get to my job interview. From my stopped position, there was a crest/dip, so I could only see to the point where the roadway rose. I pulled out when it was clear. When I was more than halfway across, a speeding Chevy truck came over/through that dip area, and we had a near miss. I gassed it to get the rest of the way into the median to avoid them crashing into my driver's side door. There was absolutely no contact between our vehicles. I also did not hear or feel an impact. I had watched the truck go past me in my mirror, and there was a big gap between our vehicles at that point, because I had already been parked completely inside the median. I waited a minute to make sure he was okay and watched him continue driving down the road. He didn't slow down or pull over at any point. After that, I drove across the median, waited for traffic, entered the other side, and went home. I said "screw it" to the interview since I wasn't going to deal with that every day. I was unfamiliar with the area and didn't realize I'd have to deal with that setup every day. The area where this happened is actually a project the state has been delaying for the past 5+ yrs b/c of funding. They plan to add J-turn improvements in this exact location due to operational/safety issues. The next night, a police officer came to my house to investigate a hit-and-run. He seemed confused too and did report that there was no visible damage, no paint transfer, no scrape, dent, broken trim, or other impact evidence that he could find. Initially, insurance said there was no claim, and they understood there to be no damage to either vehicle. About 2 weeks later, I got a citation letter in the mail. A trooper followed up a few days later; he said normally, after seeing no damage, there'd be no charges, and he would just let insurance handle it. But that it was an "unique case" b/c it involved an undercover vehicle and an off-duty officer. Several parts of the other driver's account don't make sense to me. He admits to driving past the median area where I was stopped after the near miss. He claims to have turned around, followed me, tried to get me to pull over (along with another vehicle) by honking, etc and that I refused to pull over. But that I then pulled into a gas station, and when he approached me, I gave him the middle finger and cussed at him. None of that happened! (1) If he believed we had hit, why not pull over near the median where there was a flat/open grassy area to the side? He does admit to continuing to drive down the road and claims to have turned around. However, the U-turn locations in this area are spaced far apart. The next one was 2 miles down (plus 2 miles back). That creates a timing issue. (2) How would the other vehicle, who supposedly also honked, have known about it? They would not have been within view. And why not use the flashy lights/siren? (3) If I "refused" to pull over, why would I then pull into a gas station while being followed? And where the hell is this gas station? The only gas station was about 20 mins away from the location. (4) The crash report is based entirely on the other driver's claims. It does state that no damage was found on my vehicle after inspection. It says I fled the scene, while the other driver stayed. But he admits to not pulling over and did not report the incident until arriving at the station where he had worked (about 1.5 hours away). There had not been an insurance claim prior; now, one month later, there is one. It was my partner's vehicle, and he was told insurance is considering arbitration. I am unable to afford a private attorney and plan to retain a public defender. Any advice for someone in my situation? Location: Maryland
