18m In California — Girl Hit And Ran My Car At School, Gave False Insurance Info To Police, And Now Her Family Is Dodging Their Own Insurance Company. What Are My Options?

Back in March a girl from my school hit my car during lunch in a neighborhood near campus and drove off. I didn’t even know until I walked to my car after school and found a note from a witness who saw everything — said my car shook from the impact, she hesitated, then drove away. The witness left her plate number which was huge.

The next day I noticed she parked in the same spot so I got signed out of school early, called the cops, and the officer caught her at her car. Since she’s a minor her mom showed up. I kept my distance and let the cop handle it.

That Monday her mom staked out the neighborhood looking for me, got the wrong car and ended up talking to my friend instead. Her mom told my friend the insurance info given to the police was wrong. A week after the incident she left a note on my car with her number — clearly only reaching out because she got caught.

I got a copy of the police report and filed a third party claim with her insurance, State Farm. Turns out she isn’t even on the policy. The policy is under her dad’s name and State Farm can’t get a hold of either of them. Their insurance agent is claiming the family is out of the country — but she’s been actively posting on her Instagram from California the whole time and I’ve seen her driving the car to school every day since.

State Farm has opened a formal investigation but it’s been weeks with no resolution. I have:

• Witness note with plate number • Police report • Photos of damage • Screenshots of her posting from California contradicting the “out of country” story 

My damage is to the front bumper and license plate. The body shop said the impact was hard enough they couldn’t even give an estimate without taking the bumper off first. I have Mercury insurance with uninsured motorist coverage as a backup.

What are my options here? Should I be pushing the police to pursue additional charges given the false insurance info? Is this heading toward small claims court? Any advice appreciated.

Location: Southern California