Amazon van collision turns into insurance nightmare for Calgary .
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VIDEO:
https://globalnews.ca/video/10980527/amazon-truck-hits-calgary-womans-car-two-years-later-insurance-still-wont-cover-repairs/
A Calgary woman says she is living a nightmare trying to get her vehicle repaired after she was involved in a crash two years ago with a truck driver. She says the insurance company won't cover the costs incurred.
A Calgary couple is fighting with their insurance company to repair damage their mechanic says was caused two years ago in a collision with an Amazon delivery vehicle.
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The hit-and-run happened on Feb. 19, 2023, on a residential street in the New Brighton neighborhood in southeast Calgary. "We were in our basement and our neighbor came running to us and said an Amazon driver hit our vehicle," said Amanda Avery, whose 2015 Dodge Journey was damaged in the accident.
"When we got out, we thought it was just our rearview mirror that was broken or something."
"We didn't realize the extent of the damage."
Surveillance video shows the Amazon van driving on the icy road when it appears to lose control and slide into Avery's vehicle.
After the collision, both vehicles continued to slide on the ice for several seconds before coming to a stop. Avery said her vehicle ended up eight feet from where she parked it. "Our car seats, our booster seats that were there were thrown all over the place. "Everything changed."
The Amazon van backed up and drove away.
"My husband had to run to the next cul-de-sac to catch the driver, and he got out of his vehicle to assess the damage," Avery said, adding that the driver apparently did not want to return to the scene of the crash.
"My husband finally called the police and said, 'You have to come back with me.' And the driver agreed to come back," she said, adding that police showed up, took statements and conducted their investigation.
The Calgary Police Service confirmed that the 36-year-old Amazon driver has been charged with one count of hit-and-run. The daily email you need for top Calgary news. "I was completely devastated. I felt violated. I was wondering how someone could hit your vehicle and then drive away leaving a family with so much damage?"
To top it all off, Avery said it's been a nightmare trying to get his vehicle fixed and says his insurance company SGI CANADA is not stepping in to cover the increased costs.
The Journey's frame was damaged, a door wouldn't open, a tire blew out and fell off at the point of impact, and the front bumper, grille and headlights were damaged — in addition to hidden damage to the underside, Avery explained. The family wanted the vehicle scrapped, but Avery said their insurance company insisted everything was repairable.
"When we went to the garage and saw the damage, we were even angrier and didn't want to do anything to the vehicle because we thought, 'How can they fix this so that the vehicle is safe for our family?'" »»
The insurance company was paying more than $9,000 to fix the Journey — or at least the couple thought the vehicle was fixable.
"A lot of battles with the insurance company to get it fixed properly, like it was before the accident. And we just had a lot of improvement clauses thrown at us at that point to make it usable," he said.
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Avery thought that was the end of her problems until, a few months later, she took the Dodge in for service. "They put it on a lift for me and my husband and said it was leaking a lot."
The mechanic estimated the repairs at about $1,600, saying the car needed to be fixed and was likely damaged in the accident.
Avery said when she sought insurance to cover the costs, SGI CANADA denied the claim.
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