The Person That Committed A Hit And Run Against Us Over A Year Ago Got A Non Guilty Verdict Today For Not Showing Up.

We were hit in October 2023 while we were completely stopped at a red light. I spoke to the woman driving and she asked if i wanted to pull over and exchange info, I went to take pics of her license plate because I got a bad feeling and sure enough she drove off.

My best friend and I have been through the ringer medically. After a year, we've accrued over 20k in medical bills each, we did find out the persons identity and were going through her insurance, and we do have a lawyer handling that but because of her low insurance limits there's not enough to cover the medical and lawyer fees.

She avoided court the first 3 times in the first year, a warrant was issued, she finally showed up to court in Dec 2024, where the charges had been dropped to only failure to remain at am accident. She argued with the judge when it came time to plea, stating it was just a bump after my passenger and I gave out statements in court (which was irrelevant in the case anymore because it was downgraded to a misdemeanor hit and run which they explained was on paper a "victimless crime") the judge rejected her please and stated this would move to trial, which happened today.

Today, she didn't show up. They proceeded with the trial with just my passenger and I. The prosecuter asked us questions, connecting the car I saw at the scene and the pictures I took to a picture of her car when the cops pinpointed her. The judge (the same from the dec 2024 hearing) ruled not guilty in the end.

I feel so defeated. This accident ruined so much for us. I got 5 disc herniations between my neck and my back, the lowest disc in my back tore, I'm still healing from it. I started having frequent migraine episodes that we found out were actual focal impairment seizures as a result of the concussion. We weren't even seeking compensation, we literally just wanted any accountability for her because of what she did to us. I feel so defeated and frustrated with the system because I hate feeling like she got to ruin our lives with absolutely no repercussions. I don't know if there's anything else we can do or if there's any use to keep trying.

I'm looking for any advice or similar experiences I guess, because I'm having a really tough time moving forward from this. The whole situation has made me lose so much faith.