Homeowner on hook for fence repair after Niagara Regional Police cruiser crashes through backyard

Homeowner on hook for fence repair after Niagara Regional Police cruiser crashes through backyard

A St. Catharines homeowner fears he could be left paying thousands of dollars to repair damage caused when a Niagara Regional Police cruiser skidded to a stop in his backyard a week ago.

Bassam Faraj was at work when his terrified children contacted him last Friday evening. “My daughter called me. She was really screaming.

She was crying,” he said. “I thought something very dangerous happened.” Faraj raced home to find a cruiser in his backyard on Valour Way, amidst wreckage that had been his wire mesh fence. His neighbour Manny Poulos said he watched as the police SUV left the road, tore through a row of cedar trees and fence along Welland Canals Parkway, continued across his backyard and through a fence that divided his property from Faraj’s. He said he ran outside to help, and was relieved to learn that no one was hurt — including the officer and the police dog who were in the SUV, or the 22-year-old driver of a grey 2012 Chevrolet that was also involved in the collision.

Const. Phil Gavin said the crash occurred at about 6:26 p.m. April 26, when an officer was responding to a call for service with lights activated.

The driver of the other vehicle turned left from Rockwood Avenue into the path of the police vehicle. Gavin said the officer collided with the rear driver side of the car before leaving the roadway, striking the fence and coming to rest in Faraj’s backyard.

He said the crash caused about $10,000 to each of the two vehicles. Gavin said police have since determined that the driver of the Chevrolet was at fault in the crash, and he was charged with “turn not in safety.”

Now, Faraj is primarily concerned about the cost of repairing the damage. He said police assured him that they “we’re going to fix everything, and everything would be done by next week,” but it has been a week since the incident and muddy tire tracks still mar his property, along with debris from the ruined fence and trees.

“I called police and they said they’re not going to issue any payment,” Faraj said. Gavin said “damage of this nature and this potential value would be directed through respective insurance companies.”

But Faraj said his insurance company told him he would have to pay a $2,000 house insurance deductible to start his claim — and that’s likely more than the cost of repairing the damage

Allan.Benner@niagaradailies.com