Police said the accident is still under investigation and would not discuss any details of the case, including Wyatt’s insurance status or if any charges are being filed.
A police report released to the Journal-News shows that other drivers had their vehicles hit by Wyatt before his SUV collided with the Hill’s car.
The police investigation has expanded to look into one other SUV and possibly a third car hit by Wyatt on Monday. Witnesses reported to police that Wyatt had been driving “erratically” for about an hour before his vehicle ran into the Hills’ car.
“Witnesses had seen everything,” Jamie Hill said. “My wife was in the car with me, and we both went to Fort Hamilton Hospital. I got a broken thumb out of it, and my wife has mostly bruises and scrapes…”
Hill said he has become more concerned because Wyatt has not produced insurance yet, and Hill is on the hook for medical bills and repairs to his car. His insurance will cover it, but he doesn’t think that is fair.
“I’m a responsible guy and I have uninsured motorist’s insurance, but I think it is unfair that these people can drive around and wreck into you, and they don’t care because you are paying an extra premium to make sure your insurance covers them,” he said.
Rachel McCoy, who saw the accident, described it as “scary” and said the SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed when it collided with Hill’s car.
“We were sitting at the light on the corner of NW Washington and Brookwood, facing eastbound, and the black Chevy SUV came down eastbound NW Washington in the left-hand lane, facing oncoming traffic. He was speeding and he ran the the red light and hit the white car’s front passenger side,” she said.
According to Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the state has required drivers to carry auto insurance dating back to 1953, yet the Buckeye State has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country.
Nationally, 12.6 percent of drivers, about 1 in 8, are uninsured, according to the latest data report from the Insurance Research Council. The council estimates almost 30 million U.S. drivers are uninsured.
The data also shows that Ohio is in line with the national data as 1 in 8 Ohio drivers do not have insurance and when uninsured drivers are involved in an accident, they are at-fault 75 percent of the time, and they usually lack the financial ability to pay for the damage they have caused.
Ohio law prohibits insurers from raising rates on drivers whose own policies have to cover damage caused by uninsured motorists, according to the Ohio Insurance Institute.
Since the Hills do have uninsured motorist coverage, it would be up to their insurer to take legal action against Wyatt if he is unable to produce insurance coverage.
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