Unsafe Lane Change?? Who's At Fault And How Do I Report?
My apologies if this has been posted in the wrong area.
Yesterday I was involved in a small collision where my front wheel well / tire / rim was struck by another driver.
In the image attached you can see three lanes.
The numbers will correspond with the sequence which the events happened.
1. I signaled and made a right hand turn from the parking lot onto the road.
2. I turned my left hand signal on, performed a shoulder check, and made a safe lane change 1 lane to the left. I pulled into this lane in between other vehicles as it was rush hour.
3. My vehicle is now in position 3 as per the image. Again I turned my left signal on, performed a shoulder check and started to pull into the turning lane. There were no other vehicles in the lane, the light ahead was red, and my shoulder check led me to believe there were no vehicles coming thus it was safe to move into the lane.
4. Seemingly from no where I heard tires screech and another vehicle collided with the front driver side wheel well. The person driving said they were trying to catch the advance green. There was no damage to my car. The individual asked for $500.00 bucks and I said no. He then reported the accident and I received a call from the police today.
I really don't feel I was at fault although before I report I want to ensure I don't screw myself and end up with some crazy ticket or a bunch of demerit points.
Any insight please?