How to handle a parking lot hit-and-run

Parking lot collisions are common, but not all drivers stick around to sort it out. CTV’s Ashley Bacon tells us what to do if it happens to you.

Thousands of parking lot collisions are reported to the Waterloo Regional Police Service every year, but sometimes, drivers never know who it was that hit them.

That was the situation Christian Stewart found himself in.

“There was some damage done on the fender and the bumper,” he said. “The driver didn’t leave a note. I was able to recover some footage from my workplace which showed the incident happening, the driver having a look and then unfortunately driving away.”

The Canadian Automotive Association said there are two important steps drivers should take if they find themselves in a hit and run.

“You need to see if there are any witnesses in the area,” Elliot Silverstein, the Canadian Automotive Association’s director of government relations, said. “But most importantly, you need to contact your insurer and you should also report it to a collision reporting center or to police to make sure that it is recorded and so forth.”

Police will help drivers navigate the process from there.

“In the province there’s a $5,000 limit, but that’s a combined limit, for the other vehicle and your own vehicle,” WRPS Staff Sgt. Scott Griffiths said. “If you’re involved in a collision in a parking lot and you feel the damage is over $5,000, call your local police service, here it’s WRPS, and they’ll give you some direction as to what to do.”

Anyone who leaves the scene of a collision in a parking lot without leaving their information could face legal ramifications.

“If it’s found that you’ve caused damage to somebody else’s vehicle as a result of your driving, you haven’t offered that information and we follow up, there can be charges of failing to report a collision or failing to remain at a collision, depending on the circumstances,” Griffiths explained.

Stewart told CTV News he reported his incident to both the police and his insurance company, who reviewed the video evidence and determined he was not at fault for the collision. Stewart’s repairs were covered but there was still a cost to him.

“I had to pay my deductible,” he said. “Not having the license plate of the other driver, you are basically forced to pay that deductible.”

Stewart found the situation frustrating.

“You try to take pride in something, something to take care of and then unfortunately, someone damages it and doesn’t want to take accountability, right?” he explained. “We’re all human, we all make mistakes.”

Still, the situation stung.

“When you cause damage to someone else property you should want to take care of them and at least offer to help them out,” Stewart said.