VIDEO: Early morning Upper Sahali hit-and-run captured on surveillance camera
May 11, 2022 | 2:00 PM
James Peters
KAMLOOPS — A Sahali resident is looking for the driver who slammed into her parked car early Wednesday morning (May 11).
WATCH: (Video Credit: Contributed / Chelsea Gater)
Chelsea Gater and her boyfriend live near the corner of Gleneagles Drive and Springhill Drive. Gater awoke Wednesday to find her Hyundai Elantra, which had been parked on the side of Gleneagles Drive, had been struck by another vehicle.
She says an early morning text message from her landlord alerted the couple to the collision.
“My boyfriend actually woke up to [the text],” Gater told CFJC Today. “He’s not usually awake at that time. He said that my car got hit. I thought he was having a dream, so I told him that it didn’t. But then, of course, we had a look outside and my car was smashed.”
The circumstances of the collision came into clearer focus when Gater saw video footage of the collision captured by a neighbour’s security camera. Just after 5:00 a.m., it recorded a black SUV, possibly a Honda CR-V, blowing through a stop sign and driving directly into Gater’s parked car.
“It was shocking. They completely blew the stop sign,” said Gater. “But not only that, they were on the [wrong] side of the road. People go to work at that time. It’s just amazing to see somebody completely blow that stop sign. If anybody had been there, they would have been injured and it could have been worse than just my car getting hit.”
After the collision, video shows the SUV backing away before turning around and driving away down Springhill Drive.
Gater has notified RCMP, who are investigating.
If no suspect is identified, Gater says she is on the hook to pay for the damages.
“I’m going to be charged for the deductible if nobody comes forward. That’s $500 that I don’t have to pay. I’m really hoping that somebody is in their right mind and comes forward and says, ‘Hey, this was an accident that happened.’”
Anyone with further information on the crash or the suspect is asked to contact Kamloops RCMP and refer to file number 2022-15502.
