In March I was leaving the Southwest terminal at Metro Airport and was hit by a shuttle van that was employed by Discount Limousines. The driver hit my vehicle hard enough with the van to force my entire vehicle onto the median, and then stayed next to my vehicle preventing me from getting back onto the road. After getting back onto the road, I drove for two blocks (this is still on airport property, with tons of traffic) to try to find a safe location to pull over and call the police.
The driver of the van drove very aggressively, staying right on my bumper the whole time I was trying to get pull over. After finally getting over to the right side of the road, I dialled 9-1-1, and told the officer that I had been hit by a van, please send someone. I was terrified that this nutball that had just run me off the road was going to do something else crazy. (I did not know that it was a shuttle van at the time of the accident, the van did not have any markings or signage to signify that it was a shuttle service.)
The police arrived, and both vehicles followed the officer to another location that was further away from traffic. I gave the officer my statement, the other driver gave his statement, and according to the officer's report, the driver of the van was at fault. (In MI, the vehicle listed as vehicle 1 is considered the "striking" vehicle, and is thus at fault, according to a Romulus officer. The shuttle van is listed as vehicle 1 on the report.)
Because of the no-fault insurance here in Michigan, I had to pay my deductible and repairs up-front, and then go after the other driver's insurance for reimbursement of my $500 deductible. I obtained the police report, and found out the name of the driver's company and their insurance company (), and I contacted the insurance company. To my utter amazement, this limousine company had not filed a claim with their insurance company, so I could not recoup my loss from the insurance company, I would have to contact Discount Limousines directly.
After some investigating, I found that the company is listed under the name of Cheryl Calimazzo, so I called the company and asked for my deductible to be refunded to me.
Ms. Calimazzo was less than helpful or accomodating, even though her driver had caused the accident. She even went so far as to claim that the accident had been my fault (apparently I somehow enticed her driver to drive into my lane and force my vehicle onto the median). Ms. Calimazzo was incredibly rude, and lied several times, stating that the officer said her driver was not at fault, that the driver had witnesses, then backpeddling and saying that she didn't have the accident report in front of her, I should fax it to her and she would think about refunding my money. Ms. Calimazzo also stated that they never file insurance claims when their drivers have accidents because "it would make their insurance rates go up too high and they couldn't afford to run the business." Hmm... I'll bet if Ms. Calimazzo employed safe and courteous drivers, they wouldn't have so many accidents.
Instead, I contacted an attorney and he sent Ms. Calimazzo a letter demanding payment. The company was also very rude to the attorney's assitent, refusing to confirm their fax number, refusing to give any other information to expedite the process.
In the time since the accident, Discount Limousines has filed for bankruptcy and I have been named as a potential creditor. I'm not surprised... Deadbeats like this will find any way possible to get out of taking responsibility for their actions.
Beware of this company and of Cheryl Calimazzo... If this company is operating in such a manner that it does not employ competent drivers who can make it to and from the airport without causing accidents, imagine what this company would do if you hired them to take your kids to prom???
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