‘Staged’ T-Bone Car Accident Caught on Home Surveillance Leads to $30K in Damages and 5 Arrests
Five southern California residents were arrested this year in connection with what is being labeled a staged hit-and-run car accident. Investigators secured footage of the car accident from a nearby home security camera. The damages resulted in a $30,000 insurance claim.
You can watch the home surveillance vid of the accident below.
The camera is pointed at the intersection in front of the yard. An SUV is seen entering the intersection, reversing a bit, and then parking. The driver exits the SUV and moves out of camera view.
Soon after, another SUV enters the frame and t-bones the passenger side of the parked vehicle. The second driver gets out of that car and exits the frame.
Five defendants were charged with felony counts of insurance fraud. According to the California Department of Insurance, insurance fraud is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Behind tax evasion, insurance fraud is the second-costliest crime in the U.S.
The investigation was spurred after a woman claimed to Ontario police that she was the victim of a hit-and-run. However, witnesses claimed that the woman returned to the car accident after the wreck.
The investigating task force included the California Department of Insurance, California Highway Patrol, the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office, and the Riverside District Attorney’s Office.
