This old ute smashed into my parked car at 3.30am in the morning and then bailed. It's caused 10k worth of damage. I do have insurance but my excess is $1000 which I can't afford right now. I knocked on all my neighbours doors and this is the best photos I could get of the car. I also have a video of when it actually smashed. But can't see the number plates. Police said they don't do anything unless I give them plate details. My question is. Anyone have any out of the box ideas of how I can find this car? Is there some sort of AI that can't give me details? I'm sorry i'm old i'm not up with all the new tech
Posted by Helicopterdog
33 Comments
Ironically, the law that requires the license plate to have a light on it, has fucked your ability to get the license number on a camera with night vision.
Long stretch, but get the make and model, search for relevant Facebook groups and see if there is posts from the scumbag, or post this image there. Ask them if they can tell anything unique about the car compared to stock models.
Also try and gauge what damage would have been done, call the local mechanics or the specific case brand mechanics to be on the lookout etc.
And just post on the local Facebook pages to be on the lookout for that male and model with damage. The bastard has to drive it sometime or get it fixed, especially if it’s his daily.
Mazda B2600 space cab is my guess.
That looks like a 98-06 PE/ PG/ PH model of the Ford Courier (also comes as the UN model of the Mazda B series).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranger_(international)#First_generation
Eg: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/2000_Ford_Ranger_Super_Cab_Diesel_2.5_Rear.jpg/1280px-2000_Ford_Ranger_Super_Cab_Diesel_2.5_Rear.jpg
ENHANCE!
Post to /r/CarsAustralia
Someone there will know for sure.
It’s always a ute isn’t it 😔
Maybe tell the cops you saw him fire a gun out the window. Obviously joking, but it sucks that police don’t investigate these sorts of crimes, I would think a review of traffic camera in +/- 10 minutes on the closest main intersection could reveal the culprit
Maybe see if there is a way you can request that footage?
It’s also likely this person uses your street regularly so you could keep an eye out at that time window in a few weeks time, they’ll probably avoid the area for a while, but people are creatures of habit so he may return.
You could also check out the local pub carparks at tradie knock off time. It’s a pretty easy vehicle to spot and you might be able to match the damage.
Can the neighbours help with any more footage of the event?
Does anybody of dashcam?
Looks like a b2600 extra cab..not a very common these days. Just a detail that stands out to me is the door handles.. they look color coded which would be unusual on these models.
https://preview.redd.it/vs151y5nz6kg1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4efaba242d4d6d8d8af324fc02d56e65d63f4896
What an asshole. I’m sorry this happened to you man
Call local panel beaters nearby with the make and model of the car?
Any local bars open late they could be driving from.. or businesses with cameras near you that could have footage of his car around that time?
What suburb did this happen? You might need to include this info so if any others have been scraped y’all can share intel
If you’ve got any red light cameras nearby report it to police and they can pull the footage that lasts 3 days. Doesn’t need an activation, they just continually record. Those 2wd extra cabs would be pretty rear driving around now and at a certain time
Drive around a few block radius there’s a decent chance this person lives nearby unless you are on a main road.
Too bad the photos were taken with a potato. Time to either upgrade the cameras or go into the settings and make sure you’re not capturing video in SD.
Get an actually decent camera and set it up to observe all the cars that drive by your house. With luck, he’ll be someone who regularly takes that route.
I’d expand your radius for asking neighbors for footage. Like even 2 streets away if someone has a camera pointed towards the road you might get a good view of the plate. Take a walk around and look for cameras on houses.
Holy crap. I had the same thing happen to me last Monday morning on Monday the 9th. It was around 6am and it was a white 4wd or ute that scraped the side of my car and didn’t leave a note. I have to pay my excess of $1,000 too. You poor thing OP ☹️ am going to pm you if that’s ok.
The frozen image looks like a scene out of unsolved mysteries
That sucks. If your camera has colour night vision you need to switch to that in future. Many IR cameras fail the licence plate test. Vicpol have a database that they can run your clips through but that video is pretty poor.
Is there a local Facebook community page or similar you can post on? Maybe even your local small business group may have access to cctv around the time your car was hit. Local smash repair places?
I tracked down a similar hit and run and was successful in getting them to admit fault. I was lucky to have a taxi driver witness the crash but didn’t get the number plate, just a description. It took a fair bit of time to find them though.
yes good idea
If you’re close to a pub, I’d keep an eye out on their carpark (especially if you’re on a backroad)
Check the footage captured on your cameras earlier in the day/previous night.
Chances are this person was probably going home at 3:30am from somewhere.
You might have footage of them from earlier on their way to wherever they came from.
Did they leave any busted parts on the road at the scene of the crime? A paint smear to get a colour? (though it looks like a common white ute in the pics).
Any physical evidence that could help ID the vehicle?
Can’t help with that. But can provide you a quote for better cctv that will allow you to catch the next guy… the difference in price in good cameras vs bad ones if probably less than the insurance excess
Zoom and enhance!
Happened to me a coupe years ago. You got no chance sorry. Pay your excess and move on. My car was written off.
can you check the footage like frame by frame so you can see a clearer and better image of the plate?
Hobartian popping through but this showed up and I couldn’t find an answer in just looking around.
White ford courier/Mazda bravo dual cab. 1998-early 2002. Really only came in one particular colour (I think there are silver or grey ones but not certain)
Wiki screenshot to show what I mean. See if any of your neighbours have CCTV and could skim through at the same time you picked it up. Also look at marketplace/Gumtree just in case they are trying to get rid of it.
Good luck on getting your car fixed!!
https://preview.redd.it/iaoc91f2l9kg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=c303cedf49647273467b2a822d11031a9dfeda8f
Talk to your insurer, you don’t necessarily need to pay the excess up front to have your car repaired, and if you are experiencing financial hardship temporarily they can also arrange a payment plan or defer it. You pay for insurance, you may as well use it.
And then after this claim is settled maybe talk to them about lowering your excess to something you can afford.
/u/imageenhancebot