Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station investigators are seeking the public’s help in identifying a potential hit-and-run suspect.
Security camera footage from the March 1 incident shows a vehicle in the Saugus Cafe parking lot apparently striking another parked, empty vehicle.
The footage then shows the driver exiting his car, surveying the damage and then driving away.
Shelly Anderson, a staff sergeant working as a U.S. Army recruiter in Paso Robles, said she was having breakfast around 7:45 a.m. in her hometown of Santa Clarita.
She said she was visiting with her dad, but when she went out to her car, she noticed the damage to her front end.
“I went back into (Saugus Cafe), because they have a video camera system on their property,” said Anderson. “It shows a gentleman backing up into my car, getting out, inspecting the damage, and then getting back in his car and driving away, with no note or insurance card.”
Anderson said she was hoping that the individual would have come forward by now, but she has not yet heard back from him.
“I would like his insurance company to pay for the damage, because right now, what’s happening is that I have to pay,” said Anderson. “I’m a soldier and I don’t make that much.”
Anderson said the collision would increase her deductible as her insurance would need to cover it.
“If his insurance company is going to pay for it, it keeps my costs down,” Anderson said.
The same day as the incident, Anderson said she went to the SCV Sheriff’s Station to file a report. However, what she truly wants is the person who hit her car simply to give her some form of restitution, she said.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” she said. “I’m not trying to hang them out to dry. Just an apology would be nice.”
SCV Sheriff’s Station officials confirmed this week that Anderson had filed a report and that, while they had the video surveillance footage, they were still looking for any possible eyewitness.
