Dear Editor,
I want to share what happened to me when I lost my car to a reckless driver and no police report was obtained.
Last August, I was notified that my legally parked car was hit by another vehicle, traveling on the wrong side of Sixth Street in Santa Monica, causing extensive damage, the impact of which knocked the VW Jetta partially on to the curb, and also causing damage to the car parked to the rear of the Jetta.
I was told by neighbors who saw the aftermath that three police vehicles responded and the driver of the colliding vehicle was interviewed by police. What happened next took me by surprise. When I requested a report from the police department, I was advised that no report was taken, there was an incident memo but, no report. I checked with the city attorney and was told that no report is required if there are no injuries
So, my insurance company has nothing to go on, my car was totaled, and the driver who had to be driving recklessly, walks free with his car unscathed. Think of it! You come out of your unit the next morning, and your car is useless, no report even though police were apparently called to the scene by some person, and your car is towed to the scrap yard.
Accepting the statement from the city attorney as accurate, I think there should be an amendment to the vehicle code or an appropriate ordinance that loss of property in excess of a certain value would require a police report. For example, say a car crashes into a house, no injuries, shouldn’t that require a report?
Needless to say, I was disappointed with this outcome and loss of property.
Bill Partridge
Santa Monica
