Well, this discussion is taking an interesting turn. As I said before, the early responses [and just above] are very helpful to me.
If this were a 419 scheme, I'm doing a very bad job of it as I haven't asked anyone for anything other than advice :-)
But, as I know a bit more now, allow me to share that information with you. And explain how we have three toddlers.
First, the toddlers are four year old triplets (all boys). My wife, who was raised in Poland and goes back each summer to see her parents, refuses to make the trip with more than one kid. So, two get left with me (and our au pair). Frankly, I like this arrangement as the house is much quieter, but it is tough on the kids being separated.
I finally spoke with my wife today (Thursday) about the situation. She emailed me about 4pm (my time) Wednesday with a two sentence description of what happened and asked me to call her. I assumed the accident happened on Wednesday. I called, and we spoke very briefly, but she was already in bed, the connection was bad, I was on a city bus--we didn't stay on the phone long. She told me she was due back at the police station 11am Thursday. I told her I would phone her when I woke.
So, it was just after this brief call--while on the commuter train home Wednesday evening I posted to this Forum. Someone suggested here it was strange that I post my question to Rick Steve's forum. I have to admit it has been several years since I've been on the forum--I used to travel to Europe a lot, but stopped traveling after my kids were born--so perhaps I've misjudged the purpose of the forum. If so, I apologize--but do appreciate the response I've received. Anyway, I posted while still in a bit of shock about the news--and riffing on ideas of where I might turn for help to pass along to my wife.
Anyway, I FaceTimed Thursday morning my time and she took the call, but said she couldn't talk and hung up. My sense from the background was that she was in an interview or interrogation room. The au pair (who is Polish) and I each tried several more times and we finally got through at a point she could talk in the early afternoon (my time). So at that point I learned much more about my wife's situation.
The auto accident happened Monday at 6pm local time. For whomever decided she was going to check my story: I don't know the location, but doubt it was in Krakow proper. My wife's cousins where she is staying this week are in a small town/outer suburb of Krakow--she told me the name, but I don't recall it. My wife was driving west into a glaring sun and didn't see an 88 year old women step in front of the car. My wife insists she was not at fault, but told me the officer on the scene is convinced she was at fault.
So, why am I not on a plane to Poland already? Well, the accident happened Monday and my wife didn't email me about it until 55 hours later (I now know). While I'm mildly pissed about that, I've experienced the opposite: in January 2015 I was at a professional conference in Hawaii (my first long trip since kids were born) and my wife discovered pipes had frozen/cracked in our house and water was spewing into our basement. So, instead of calling a plumber, she called me in Hawaii! I was mildly pissed at that too.
Anyway, as I wrote earlier, my wife is from Poland. She went to law school in Krakow. She has friends and relatives there who are lawyers. She is well equipped to handle things locally. And I now know she energized her local network of people on Tuesday, and didn't require my help (and frankly I wouldn't be much help on the ground there.) She was scheduled to meet with an attorney later today who she says is well known and well regarded, and recommended by multiple people in her network.
[More in next post]
