A YouTube video showing a luxury car being battered in one of Vancouver's worst-ever parking jobs has helped police solve a hit-and-run involving an unlicensed teen driver.
The cringe-worthy video with the cheeky title, "How to Park Your Porsche in Vancouver," goes on for nearly two minutes as the driver of a white Porsche Cayenne SUV repeatedly slams into the side of a garage as he tries to get inside, after cutting the corner a little too sharply.
The person shooting the video can be heard saying "just about got it," after the driver spins his wheels repeatedly, revs the engine, and crunches the side of the vehicle into the garage's wall.
The video ends when the now-mangled high-end vehicle finally makes it inside, but not before several pieces of the back bumper fly into the alley.
Vancouver police tell CTV News they have spoken to the driver, and say he was involved in a minor hit-and-run collision on June 16th on West 32nd Avenue between Oak and Granville streets.
The mother of the 16-year-old was out of the country, and the teen – who does not have a driver's licence -- was driving her car, says Const. Brian Montague.
Although the accident was fairly minor – the SUV hit an unoccupied parked car – the teen did some pretty good damage to his mom's SUV, Montague said.
Officers only had a vehicle description for the accident, but were able to track down the driver after the YouTube video – which clearly shows the car's plates – was forwarded to the VPD.
"Our officers began a hit and run investigation looking for this white Porsche Cayenne. What we received a few days later was a video of an individual trying to park his white Porsche Cayenne into a garage with significant damage to the passenger side," he said.
If the young man would have stayed at the scene he would have likely only gotten a $265 ticket for driving without a licence, and it "wouldn't have been a big deal," Montague said.
But because he left the scene he is now charged with multiple violations under the Motor Vehicle Act, including driving without due care and attention, driving without a licence, hit and run and failing to remain at the scene.
"Once we had the video it wasn't overly difficult to connect the dots – that's for sure," Montague said.
"His fines are extremely high, now he has to deal with insurance, not only the car but the house he destroyed trying to hide the vehicle."
Last year, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. says 14,067 tickets were issued under the Motor Vehicle Act for drivers without a valid licence. Another 9,200 contraventions involved drivers without insurance.
First-time offenders face a violation ticket, but additional infractions are punishable by a vehicle impound and indefinite driving prohibition until the driver obtains a valid B.C. driver's licence.
The police spokesperson said he felt the video was "extremely silly," and the young man made circumstances much worse for himself by fleeing the minor accident in the first place.
"Obviously while the mother was away he thought it would be OK, or a good idea, to take the car," he said.
"This 16-year-old is in a heap of trouble."
