Imagine driving down a residential street at night and accidentally crashing into parked car with so much force that it flips your vehicle upside down. Many would just be relieved that they’re still alive and appreciate any help from the residents in the area. But one man in California decided not to do that and instead tried to flee from the scene on foot. His attempt to run away from his problems didn’t last very long, though, as the owners of the parked car chased after him.
Couple was suddenly awoken by the rollover crash outside
On September 20 at around 9:45 p.m., an unnamed male driver in La Mesa was caught on camera driving his silver vehicle straight into rear left side of a parked blue car, causing the driver to flip upside down as his vehicle came to a halt, as shown in a report by CBS 8.
Michael Garrod, the owner of the blue car, and his girlfriend were startled out of bed from the sound of the impact outside. “I looked out the big front window,” Garrod said, “and I just see a car upside down, flipped over right out front.”
Surveillance footage taken from Garrod’s Nest camera system shows the entirety of the accident. The silver sedan collides with the blue car with enough force that it propels the parked car forward several feet forward. The sedan then tumbles onto its side and rolls over upside down, coming to a halt in the middle of the road. A shot of the blue car by the outlet shows the extensive damage dealt to its rear end.
Driver runs away from the accident, but couple chases after him
Still in his pajamas, Garrod is seen coming out of his home and running toward the flipped car. He called 911 and went around the car to check on the driver, calling the man from a few meters away to make sure he was alright. He then went to the back of the flipped vehicle to take down its license plate information, but that’s when the man got out of the car and decided to run away on foot.
Garrod recalled, “I come back around to where we just saw him, I realize he’s gone.”
As caught on cellphone video, this prompted Garrod and his girlfriend to chase him down the street.
“We got you, bro,” the girlfriend yells at the fleeing driver.
Meanwhile, Garrod was on the phone still speaking with the 911 dispatcher: “We’re running on foot right now. He’s approaching 70th street.”
That’s when his girlfriend tells the man that he has little chance of escaping. “I’m a f***in’ track star,” she warns him.
The couple manages to catch up with the driver at the end of the road, which causes the man to put his hands up and give up. They all walked back to the scene of the accident, where the man was later taken into custody by officers from La Mesa Police.
“I was on the phone with the cops the whole time giving him our location so they were able to meet up with us all the way down the street,” Garrod said.
At the time of the report, Garrod said that law enforcement had not yet provided him with any details on the man’s identity or whether he was driving with insurance.
“I don’t know the name or if they even have insurance yet,” Garrod said. “We don’t know why he was trying to flee the car or anything like that, so right now I’m just waiting on a police report to hopefully get some more info.”
The flipped vehicle was cleared off the street within an hour of the accident by a tow truck. However, the couple is unsure what will happen with their insurance claims.
