Police believe that alcohol was a factor in a hit-and-run that involved an SUV bashing into several parked vehicles at a North Island dealership on Monday evening.
Staff Sergeant Troy Beauregard of the Campbell River RCMP said the driver turned herself in on Tuesday evening.
“A female resident of Campbell River admitted to their involvement in the incident,” he said, adding that police have recovered the vehicle.
Police aren’t releasing the name of the suspect until she appears in court.
Asked what led to the incident, he said, “We believe that alcohol was involved.”
Beauregard said police are recommending charges that may include failure to remain at the scene of an accident and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. The driver is not in custody, he said.
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Coastline Mazda released surveillance footage of the hit-and-run on Tuesday, offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever was responsible for the slow-motion demolition derby.
The video had been shared 678 times on Facebook by Wednesday afternoon.
It shows a gold-coloured SUV as it sideswipes a parked car before veering away. Moments later, it hits another one.
The video only shows part of the action, said Allen Duns, general manager at the dealership.
“The vehicle drove onto the lot first, up the hill, hit one car by the service department… when it went to turn around, it ran into two cars in the wash bay, and then when it was leaving the dealership, it hit two vehicles that you saw it kind of sideswipe,” he said.
He described the vehicle as a gold Ford Explorer, dating from between 2002 and 2005, and requested that anyone with information contact the dealership or police.
The incident took place on Monday evening around 7:30 p.m. When Duns came into work the next day, he was upset and puzzled to see the damage, which he estimated at “somewhere in the $15,000 range.”
“I was trying to figure out, was it maybe an unhappy customer? Was it somebody that was drinking and driving?”
The video didn’t clear things up, he said, noting that it appeared deliberate because of the several consecutive hits.
“It seems really weird,” he said.
This story was updated on April 25 with further details from the RCMP.
