OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Cory Petersen suffered a financial blow delivered by a driver while earning extra money through DoorDash to pay off the car he just bought.
‘They’re telling me about $17,000 worth of damages,” Cory said.
He has a witness who stayed around.
“I wanted to help him because it was a clear hit-and-run with no license plates,” said Mike Koley, who witnessed the crash.
Mike told police the hit-and-run driver wasn’t alone.
“The gentleman kind of looks around and jumps back in his car and realizes it will go,” Mike said, recounting the events. “Then, a 12-year-old had to dive into the car. I thought he was going to roll out, but jumps in just in time and they both close their doors and take off.”
It left Cory shocked, but not injured.
As it turns out, this hit and run isn’t the last shock Cory must endure from this crash. he says he has full coverage and submitted a claim, but then he got a response from the insurance company.
The former Marine has USAA, which told Cory he should have notified the company about his food deliveries, so the damage claim is denied.
“I’m learning that there’s a special type of insurance to add onto your full coverage insurance and it’s called the ‘ride share gap protection,’ I believe,” Cory said. “I didn’t have that, so apparently they’re telling me my full coverage will not cover my vehilce.”
USAA told 6 News that customers who use their personal vehicles for delivery services should ask for policy reviews to ensure they have proper coverage. Cory’s mom suggest he turn to DoorDash for his car repair costs.
“Now DoorDash is giving pushback,” said Maggie Petersen, Cory’s mother. “I don’t know if it was embedded in the information they had or what, but to to the lay person, you would think they would give you a heads up that you have to have this. They just keep referring him back to USAA. Well, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place now.”
DoorDash paperwork states that damages sustained to a dasher’s vehicle are the dasher’s responsibility, but a hit-and-run driver is responsible for the crash, so Mike hopes his description as a witness will help Cory get justice.
DoorDash says all dashers are provided with occupational insurance to help cover medical expenses if they are injured in an accident, but repairs to his car must go through his auto insurance.
Cory says that leaves him without a car, so he’s catching rides with family or friends to his full time job. He’s considering an appeal to the Nebraska Department of Insurance over the claim denial.
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