Is it possible she could claim I hit her even though I didn't?

I was driving into a small side street and stopped at an intersection. A girl was crossing right in front of my car. I didn’t touch her at all, but I honked because she walked too close to my car. After she passed me, I honked, and that’s when she turned around, shook her finger at me, and started chasing me down the street. I didn’t hit her or anything; she just seemed to overreact because I honked. Could she actually say I hit her and try to claim it was a hit-and-run? There wasn’t anyone else around, so I don’t think anyone saw it happen. Just looking for some advice here. Thanks.

Why were you honking at her? If you were turning, maybe just wait until she crosses instead of honking.

Merritt said:
Why were you honking at her? If you were turning, maybe just wait until she crosses instead of honking.

The original poster said they were stopped and honked because she was walking really close to the car. If everyone had dash cams, this discussion probably wouldn’t be happening.

Honestly, if a pedestrian is crossing, it’s usually best to just wait and let them move on. Honking might come off as aggressive.

Not sure what’s concerning you here…unless there’s more to the story?

You said you were making a turn, and she was crossing. So she got close to your car, and you honked. But why honk? Was she blocking your way?

Why would she chase you down? Were any words exchanged? Something doesn’t add up.

@Avery
She was just crossing the intersection and walked really close to my car. That’s why I honked, just to get her attention. Nothing strange on my end. Read my post carefully, please.

Whitney said:
@Avery
She was just crossing the intersection and walked really close to my car. That’s why I honked, just to get her attention. Nothing strange on my end. Read my post carefully, please.

Alright, so if there was no contact and nothing inappropriate happened, what’s the worry? You honked, she reacted…it’s just a typical interaction.

Her chasing you is odd, though. Maybe it was just a random person who got upset, or she felt you turned too close to her and got annoyed.

You said she wasn’t blocking you, just walking by, right? Maybe she thought the honk was unnecessary, like she was being yelled at just for crossing. That’s how I read it.

@Avery
Yeah, exactly. I didn’t touch her. She only got upset when I honked, then turned into a ‘Karen’ and started chasing me. It was weird. I just want to know if she could say I hit her and try to make a big deal out of it.

@Whitney
I get you. It sounds like it’s bothering you because you were the first one to honk, which sort of started the whole thing. If nothing actually happened and you didn’t hit her, it’s probably just you feeling a bit guilty for honking first. That’s a human reaction.

Honestly, if there’s no evidence or witnesses saying you hit her, then it’s just an unfortunate encounter. Just try to stay calm, and maybe next time, hold back on the honk if you’re unsure. It’ll be fine.

@Avery
Haha, this made me laugh.

@Whitney
Honking at her was unnecessary. You ended up causing a scene. You’re lucky it wasn’t me you honked at, or worse, that there wasn’t a cop around.

Cameron said:
@Whitney
Honking at her was unnecessary. You ended up causing a scene. You’re lucky it wasn’t me you honked at, or worse, that there wasn’t a cop around.

Honking is now seen as starting a confrontation? Really?

Cameron said:
@Whitney
Honking at her was unnecessary. You ended up causing a scene. You’re lucky it wasn’t me you honked at, or worse, that there wasn’t a cop around.

Why, though? You’d call the cops just because I honked?

@Whitney
Can pedestrians even get too close to a car legally?

People can claim anything they want, but without medical records or some kind of proof, she won’t get far. Maybe get a dash cam for next time.

A dash cam would solve this, and you’d have peace of mind.