Clear Creek County hits Colorado man's car twice, insurance company says they don't have to pay
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- Considering Anthony Zacharias has the video of a road grader smashing into his car twice, driven by an employee with Clear Creek County Road and Bridge, you might think he is at least entitled to some compensation for his now-totaled vehicle.
Get a lawyer and stop being friendly with them.
Lawyers have to be willing to take the case…for the driver he would have to pay at least a 5k retainer for the lawyer. His best bet is what he’s doing creating negative publicity for the elected officials. He may try and file a hit and run report on the driver with the police, but that along shot.
@@Davesmeg I'm not so sure the elected officials care. This is why it's best to consult a lawyer, a good firm, find one, talk to them, not all lawyers require money upfront. They might know someone who will take it on contingency, and with it being medium profile in the public spotlight - there's a chance.
@@Crismodin your ideas are good too…politicians care only win their jobs our on the line, or they can twist events like this in their favor.
@@Davesmeg Goicoechea Law will take it on Contingency, probably just for the exposure. Any good attorney will if you have a winning case. It's when you have a loosing one they want the $ up front because no one wants to pay after loosing. Kid has a $100k lawsuit easy. 5k is the seed money. Private Property rights Trump and County policy or insurance scam.
@@thefix2573 nooo, he has a compensation for financial loss, lawsuit. It would be 100k if there was malicious intent. That's why the city had the news word it that way.
Collision happened on private property. Civil immunity does not apply.
Ya I think that they should get a lawyer also get your insurance company involved they hate paying for things so they are there to help you fight things like this.
Then why the insurance? If they have "immunity", they don't need insurance....wonder who's getting that kick back?
Actually they are probably "self insured." Another scam used by governments. Of course the lawyers still make money on this.
Boebert...🤦♂️
Seriously! Talk about a scam. Blanket immunity is crap, these things need to be on a case by case basis. This is just wrong on so many levels.
@@philpalmer4877 that's funny, because Joe Neguse (D) represents Clear Creek County.
Congress didn't write the Colorado state law the Colorado legislature did. Who the U.S. representative is is immaterial.
The township says they have immunity from paying for damages they inflicted? Clear Creek township is obviously a criminal organization that claims immunity from prosecution. Whatever happened to fairness and responsibility? Shameful.
Wait until you realize that ALL government is a criminal organization. Government is the mafia, but with flags and an indoctrination system that teaches us that it's activities are something other than unjust and immoral.
this is a lawsuit this dude can definitely win
🤔 Wonder if I can simply declare immunity of accountability?
But the grader was on private property without permission. No county can legally do that without due process beforehand.
Good point
Clear Creek needs to pay up
The car looked to be back far enough. Anything out of the right of way should not be covered by this law.
So it would seem.
5th ammendment
Surely the immunity is only for them doing their job as required. It wouldn't cover unnecessary actions, such as crushing vehicles on private property.
Right! If full immunity existed, what would stop them from intentionally causing damage?
Government isn't above its citizens. Let's have a vote on whether the government pays for the damage.
It would be required for it to turn around hence the situation
He should sue the county for damages as they entered his private property and caused irreparable damage to his private property, on said private property. Regardless of their asinine claims a diesel engine powered grader not being a motorized vehicle, they illegally entered his private property without permission, or a warrant. They violated his rights.
exactly. He didn't leave his car on a city or county street.
That will take money he shouldn't have to, and perhaps can't spend. That county is running a scam. He should prevail on his insurance to sue. This mess piece should help as well. Counties hate bad press.
Surely he has his own insurance who can sue on his behalf
@@coryc9040 If they will. If they determine that it's not worth fighting the county, they can just refuse, or drop him. It's not at all a sure thing.
In order to sue for damages, he will have to repair or replace his car first and then use the receipts as evidence of economic damage. His other course is to simply file a claim with his own insurance company and his own insurer will subrogate with the county’s insurer.
F Insurance! One of the biggest scams of our time. And F Clear Creek County.
Don’t buy it, it’s really that’s simple.
Sad part is colorado makes you have insurance or you get a ticket, same as not registering a vehicle. I know cause I’ve had one before and it’s not a cheap ticket. But I still agree with you…
More like F your state representatives.
They are the ones who allow their citizens to be robbed by insurance companies.
@@wht240sxka you don’t have to get insurance. It’s totally up to you.
In know huh? My budget do I pay mortgage, power, insurance or food? By law if I don’t pay insurance the State can take my car, without my permission.
If I did that they call it steeling.
The grader hit him in his own drive? What is he doing in this guys drive anyway? Grader guy is totally at fault and the county should shut up and pay up..
I have never seen heavy equipment vehicles use a private driveway to turn around.
This is one of the reasons .
@@user-bg2oi4bz3p Then how do they turn around if it's a dead end street and that's the last home on the street?
@@LoriL010 How did the plow driver see there was a driveway there but not see the car with snow 12 feet higher than the surrounding snow or even consider there could be an actual car parked on that driveway?
Back up to the next intersection.
@@user-bg2oi4bz3p Huh? Seeing a wide area is easy...seeing a car buried under snow is not.
Sue them all. They are responsible. All the people who have this insurance should cancel immediately.
"People" can't have this insurance. It's for government entities.
I called them and berated on behalf of us that care. Everyone should! Its called accountability.
@Off-The-X Sounds a lot like harassing your government employee to me but okay.
@@thelonecabbage7834 Its an insurance company. I dont owe them respect as they are thieves
OK BOT, lol, meanwhile the insurance didnt matter it was the law that declared them clear.
Abuse of power. He needs to call the Institute of Justice. They have a case similar to this they are trying to bring to the supreme court.
The person needs a driver's license to operate a road grader. It's a no brainer the county is liable
A driver's license is not require to operate a road grader, but certification is required.
To be on a public road it is most definitely required
Unbelievable, governments write laws that protect them and, at the same time, write laws that make everyone else accountable for their actions. This is wrong. The incident was on video, with no accountability from the government. No one is above the law!
"No one is above the law". It's pretty clear that the government is. Rules for thee, but not for me.
How many times have we heard that ignorance of the law is no excuse for a citizen, but time and time again we see government use that very excuse?
Well our Supreme Court disagrees. Their lord savior is above the law.
The question to ask oneself is if the founding fathers that were known to tar and feather government agents would agree to this concept of governments being able to declare themselves immune from liability...
Unbelievable. Each incident should be investigated individually and assessed to be fair. Since this was a hit and run ( felony) it should be handled differently then just a civil offense. Kid needs to lawyer up.
It's the government. The government is not accountable to laws.
Sue the hell out of that insurance company and the county. They know they are liable but are banking on you not knowing that or taking further action.
This is a common problem in summit county and sadly same response if they do any damage to your property or such. Law needs to change to protect home owners
This is going to continue as long as we refuse to do the right thing and take up arms.
@@Look_What_You_Did maybe instead of trying to insult people. You could add something positive like we need to add protections for vehicles or something else that your worried about.
County Immunity does not count when the incident happens on private property.
@@Look_What_You_Did destruction of private property on private property......... Immunity is while in public. Look up the statute yourself.
@@Look_What_You_Did The statute is called the 4th amendment. We have a constitutional right to be secure in our "places" and "things". A government employee/contractor coming onto private property and causing damage is explicitly violating two of the provisions.
@@georgehampton7579 Hi Bot
END QUALIFIED IMMUNITY!
Problem solved!
1. End qualified immunity
2. Term limits for all government.
With those two changes a lot would be fixed.
This isn’t qualified immunity which is limited but absolute or sovereign immunity meaning no one can sue or hold the “state and its agents” responsible criminally or civilly no matter what! Police don’t have that!
@@cleenlivinpolice have enough
1. Learn what actually happened.
"We don't want _taxpayers_ to pay for our mistakes, so we are immune! It's to help the taxpayers! Therefore, if we _do_ make a mistake, individual citizens must pay the price and we get off scot free!" Outrageous. They need to figure out a way that THEY can pay the price for their own mistakes. I don't know what that looks like but this isn't it.
clear creek should pay even if it is done outside of insurance. I would be embarrassed as a commissioner.
YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK TO BE USED AGAINST YOU ...
imagine if they didn't have the video evidence, the county would be completely off the hook thanks to this statutory loophole
Sue the county in Federal court under the takings clause: "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
On private property?
That should null and void any county “contract.”
I would call police and demand that they file trespassing charges! He was on their property when they totaled their car!
😝😆😝😂😂😆 you don’t know what trespassing is…
Criminal damage ! Trespass is a crime, damage caused whilst committing a crime has to be criminal damage.
@@WhiskeyGulf71 It's not trespassing, but they did go onto private property and vandalized a vehicle.
@@WhiskeyGulf71 Trespassing? 😆😝😂🤣 oh brother….
Do you not understand immunity?
Since a Road Grader isn't a motorized vehicle you can take your Road Grader for a spin in the parks, bike paths, side walks, cross walks? Lost your license in Clear Creek County? Get a Road Grader! Or even better yet! Attach a blade to your car/truck. It's a Road Grader now, not a motorized vehicle.
Excellent point!
Man, it would be a shame if the county found that their equipment was constantly being vandalized and destroyed in the wake of this corruption coming to light.
Used to be a lot more of that, before everyone had cameras. Not surprisingly, it tended to get results.
Idaho Springs is in Clear Creek County, and while it is a seperate entity, after one of their employees hit my car, I was issued a check for the damages within the week.
So, conversely, IF someone put a large pole that would prevent the snowplows from approaching their cars and likely damage the plows, this too would not be a personal problem?? I have driven heavy equipment enough to know that the operator knew that he hit something, or he was truly a novice who probably shouldn't be operating in adverse conditions.
So the grader operator knew that was a spot off the road they could safely use to turn around, but didn’t know it was a driveway or think a vehicle might be parked there? Hmmm, sounds fishy.
Accountability in Colorado? They don't even pull people over for having no plates or blowing through stop signs.
Bull crap you can see the car under the snow. And why is the country not liable. That is shifty obviously your town is crooked.
Yes you can see the car, but regardless the county should not be backing up onto private property.
If he came onto the driveway, the company is responsible for the damage. If he was on the street they would not be responsible. But since it was parked legally the county is a fault.
This should be considered a governmental 'taking' since the vehicle was parked on private property and just compensation should be provided.
He can go after the driver through a civil lawsuit. He can also hold the people in charge of the equipment and staff liable.
Hopefully, he has auto insurance. His insurance company can take their insurance company to court.
So they have limited liability because they say they have limited liability? Okay, I have limited liability now.
I'm not someone that promotes suing, but in this case, you need to set a precedent and absolutely sue.
Thats BS because if they hit the grader you know they would go after the the cars insurance ... again with the two tier bologna
In this case he would file with his insurance assuming he had comprehensive coverage and his insurance would sue the other insurance to collect their payout and his deductible.
Sadly I had to come this far down for the correct answer
False, Negligence is always reprehensible
You need the right lawyer to sue the driver
I imagine the county will be calling this young man very soon.
It's a universal constant... politicians HATE bad publicity... and this is BAD.
Once the people of Colorado start calling, and emailing the county offices to complain (hint hint)... they will settle.
I doubt it because no individual politician or party gets the bad publicity. This happens all over the country with similar results. They point to their immunity and don’t do a thing to help their victims. Or they make it so expensive to fight them in court that the victim gives up or runs out of money.
@@crinklecut3790 Or a somebody running for Election sees this, authorizes the victim of this to get compensated and then recieves free publicity for the good deed. Hell it'd be way cheaper than taking out an election ad I can tell you that. In a game of one up man ship (politics) this is a no brainer, especially in an election year.
Colorado is now a s*** hole thanks to California transplants and hippies. They’ve turned it into the very thing they fled.
Hire a lawyer.
I cannot believe for a moment that the operator did not feel when he hit the car, twice. Look to me like he did it on purpose because he knows the law is on his side.
Sue the insurance company and county in federal court. CGIA won't apply.
@@Look_What_You_Did You can file a civil case in federal court..what are you on about?
@@User5_ Hi Bot, I think hes talking about having a correct understanding of the law.
Immune? Seriously? The fact that these vehicles were parked on private property should make a difference.
"A vehicle is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles, railed vehicles, watercraft, amphibious vehicles, aircraft, and spacecraft. "
There should be criminal charges for hit and run. Twice.
That is not a "motorized vehicle"?? Everything else is a motorized vehicle when it benefits them. I've seen a person get a DUI on an electric scooter on a sidewalk. If that scooter can be considered a motorized vehicle then surely this piece of equipment can be. Even a crappy attorney could win a lawsuit against them by challenging their definition of a motorized vehicle and focusing on the negligence of the operator.
I know someone who was literally hit by a bus... the city was immune from paying. Should be illegal.
That is a hit and run. Even though the law claims that they are not liable I would use the unless clause as the vehicle is a Motor vehicle as it is a motor grader. If I was in your shoes I would sue.
The problem with mandatory insurance is that now they can charge whatever they want because you have to have it
The county can't legally declare itself immune to all liability. This needs to be taken to a higher court and the county officials should be sued and held responsible for the damage.
Yes a motorized road grater does count as a motorized vehicle and the family should take the company to court. The road grater was turning around in their driveway, which is a private driveway. When there is a house, you know there is a driveway leading to it that cars will be parked in. Sorry, but the insurance company is full of crap and should to be held accountable.
That might be true but... that was negligence. And it was on private property. They are liable for the destruction of private property. And a grader is 100% a motorized vehicle. They have a motor and wheels and are being operated on public roads and must obey the same laws of the road. Get an attorney. You will win. The county is wrong. I was a plow operator here in colorado for a county DPW and we always paid out if a grader damaged private property. Or any vehicle for that matter.
so the "resulting high taxes of full liability" would be considered unfair, but destroying tax payer's personal property with seemingly reckless immunity is fair game? am I the only one confused about the lack of common sense here, appalling
It's time to stop being so nice, and to lawyer up. A crime was committed, you know who committed it, and you've incurred damages.
Insane. Humanity is insane.
That’s just crazy. How can the country not be at fault?
The county clearly stated that it is above the law.
Replace the word immunity with the word tyranny, that’s more like it
This is complete BS. Everyone start calling the Clear Creek County board or highest government official and COMPLAIN.
Wow, that’s insane. They were on private property when this happened, how is this even possible?!
"The county is immuned from liability"...what a crock of SH*T.
Ah. Well, time to rent the same kind of vehicle and pay a visit to the parking lot next time the city council meets. Heh
Attorney Time ⚖️
That law makes sense on PUBLIC property, but the county trespassed on to PRIVATE property and THEN damaged private property. As for the operator not "hearing" the crash, he would have SEEN the snow covered vehicles but obviously didn't care. They should sue the county and also sue the operator personally. Alternately the county could pay for the damage then take the cost out of the operator's pay.
But if a county vehicle pulled into a private driveway to turn around,and damaged their car, they should be liable 😠
County’s responsibility
😂 has a motor, does not identify as a motor vehicle.
Just sue them in Federal Court under the taking clause of the Constitution
Uh I think pretty much any court would consider a gas (or diesel as it may be) road grader a "vehicle" !
Gotta abolish this immunity BS.....
I like Anthony! What a happy kid! Even after this, he's still smiling. I really, really hope this works out for him. County doesn't want to apologize because that may leave them open to liability, maybe, but it would be nice. Cmon guys, make this kids day!
"Colorado Governmental Liability Act" is THEIR way of denying Jesus...because this is most certainly not the answer to the question, "What Would Jesus Do?"
The grader has a motor and runs on a motor... good to know
This is how you get a killdozer rampage in your town.
was waiting for someone to reference Heemeyer
Sue them, it's easy....
The government is the largest gang.
Good work Spencer.
So next winter you need to leave a little surprise for this Grader???????.
Look... I'm with you on that... but what "surprise" would do the job? A 3 ton boulder would have an effect, but it would also make the driveway kind of hard to use. Although video of the grader driver giving themselves whiplash would be golden! You'd need something 6" or longer to damage those tires... and then you'd probably get charged with vandalism for the very expensive tires. If they'll stiff the poor kid over this, you can be sure they'd try and stick him with that bill. Unlikely to win, but they'd try.
Open to any inventive (and preferably legal) solutions...
None of this should be necessary, which is the truly frustrating bit. Video plainly shows the grader hit the car twice. The driver could maybe claim ignorance of the first hit... but the second? Still wouldn't clear them of responsibility for the damage though.
I asked them to tell me a story about when the government gets too big and powerful… this is what I got.
It was in his driveway for God's sake!
Time to get a lawyer.
He drove onto their driveway! Case closed!😮
Unlimited liability? Your liability is only limited by your competence. And did I hear something insurance!? (Both the employer and the person who actually made the mistake should have to pay something for that.) Insurance? Scam!!! The entire model needs to be purged from our society and its economy. Pay for your own mistakes.
Did the snowplow really hit Jeff Spicolli‘s car? It was probably driven by Mr. Hand 😂😂😂😂
I can hear him, Hey DUDE, what ya doing?"
Gee the nerve of them having their cars parked in their own driveway, on their own land. 🙄🤡
This kid smoking too much. An apology does nothing.
The fact that he owns a subaru says it all.
Jeff Spicoli drives a Subaru, no surprise there.
I clearly saw the car in the video??!
They drove into his driveway to hit his car. It’s not like it was even on the street. If our stuff isn’t safe from government on our own property, do we really own anything?
2024 is ripe for rebellion.
The answer to your question is no. Google civil asset forfeiture.
I have been told the same here, that city plows have no liability to cover any damage (also in Colorado)
They don’t have immunity. Sue them. They can claim anything, but that doesn’t mean it’s legally defensible. Anyone can put words on a website, even a municipality. Doesn’t mean it’s accurate.
Ridiculous. Thanks for calling them out.
What about the fact that they entered PRIVATE PROPERTY using the owners driveway.
Gov needs to take care of this person. Period
Then I guess he is not liable for any damage to the road grader or it's driver.
Why have they got insurance then?
Not motorized? Is he pedaling it ?
That's tough...especially going uphill.😁👍🏼🚴♀️
Needs to sue in Federal court for constitutional violations under the takings clause.
A _WHOLE_ new level of entitlement. But this time it’s the State of Colorado saying it can destroy your automobile and not be held responsible for the destruction of your personal property. Thank you Colorado for giving me a heads up for never visiting your state.