DENVER -- An Uber driver is now out of a job and an income after a hit-and-run crash left his van badly damaged. Now, he's warning drivers to make sure they have the proper insurance coverage to protect them from crashes like these.
Bashir Elmabrouk says he was driving home from the Sloan's Lake area about two weeks ago when the driver of a sedan ran the stop sign, causing him to crash his car into hers.
"My car is gone, and this is the only resource ... in the summer for me to make any income," he said. "I have a big family. Six kids. My wife."
Elmabrouk teaches at MSU during the spring, he says, and works as an Uber driver during the summer to make some extra cash. But without a working car, that's no longer an option.
"It's going to cost between $2,000-$3,000, I don't know, maybe more. It's a total loss for sure. It's not drivable anymore," he said.
The driver and passengers of the sedan took off before police could arrive, Elmabrouk says, but not before he could take a picture of their car and license plate.
Denver Police confirmed to Denver7 Tuesday that the driver, a 27-year-old woman, was caught by officers shortly after the crash and was ticketed for causing the crash and leaving the scene of an accident.
Still, Elmabrouk has since learned that the driver was not insured, and his own insurance won't cover the damages because he didn't have uninsured motorist coverage.
"It's mandatory that your insurance professional offers it to you, but it is an optional coverage for what we call UMUIM or under insurance coverage," Rocky Mountain Insurance Association executive director Carole Walker said.
About 16.3% of Colorado drivers are uninsured, Walker says, about four percentage points higher than the national average.
And if you don't have the right coverage, like uninsured and underinsured motorist, on your insurance policy, you'll likely end up footing the bill for whatever damage they cause.
"'Could I pay to fix my car, replace my car, pay for medical bills?' Those are all something that you'll have to pay for out of pocket if you go without uninsured motorist coverage," Walker said.
Elmabrouk says he's not sure how he'll pay to either repair his vehicle or replace it. He just wants to make sure no one else ends up in his situation -- helpless and victimized -- because of an insurance policy coverage he did not elect.
"There's a lot of uninsured vehicles in the street, a lot," he said. "Hit-and-runs ... it's almost every day."
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