PORT AUX BASQUES, NL – An unidentified driver ran his vehicle into a row of seven parked cars outside an apartment building in East End Channel late Saturday evening, Feb. 10. Five vehicles were struck, with three sustaining severe damage rendering them inoperable.
Witnesses say the driver and his passenger subsequently abandoned their own vehicle and fled the scene. Sgt. Terry Alexander of the Port aux Basques detchment confirmed that the accident was determined to be a hit and run.
Ellen Farrell, who was staying with her mother in the area, was one of the lucky two with a smaller vehicle parked far enough away from the edge of the street, avoiding impact. She estimates the crash took place about 10:45 p.m.
“We heard the big bang. You know what the grader is like when they drop the blade,” said Farrell. “This is what it put you in mind of.”
Richard LeRiche’s two vehicles, parked next to each other, were all but destroyed. He and his wife Vanessa were forced to borrow a relative’s vehicle to get to work. One of his cars bounced off a neighbour’s due to the force of the impact, causing damage to that vehicle as well.
RCMP later removed the unidentified driver’s abandoned vehicle but have not released any other details.