Tell me about it...
Last December, I picked up my car from the transmission shop (paid $400). Low visibility (snowstorm). Lost control of my car on CTH D, skidded down a short hill and hit a tree--totalling my 1992 Plymouth Voyager in the process.
Then, I bounced back onto Hwy D, where I hit my dad's 1994 Voyager (he was trailing about 600 feet behind me). His van suffered several thousand dollars worth of damage--including the bending of the front axle.
The sheriff's deputy gave me a ticket for failure to control--claiming that anyone who ends up in a ditch gets a ticket. IIRC, it was a $200 ticket.
My ticket got thrown out after the DA learned that my dad and I had to spend about $10,000 in purchasing two replacement cars--she said that we suffered enough...
You are very lucky the DA had mercy on you. Usually they do not.
The cops make me sick with the way they push people around. Just a bunch of bullies with badges, for the most part.