A NEW YORK woman was driving her car to run some errands on a highway two weeks ago when a nearby car pulled over into her lane.
The silver Honda slammed on their brakes, causing Ashpia Natasha to immediately halt her car amid fears of a collision.
New York driver Ashpia Natasha says it would have been ‘catastrophic’ if she didn’t have a dash cam[/caption]
New York driver Ashpia Natasha’s car suffered $8,300 in damages after a silver Honda reversed and hit it two weeks ago[/caption]
The rear of the silver Honda which reversed onto New York woman Ashphia Natasha’s car two weeks ago[/caption]
She managed to slow her vehicle down fast enough to avoid a car crash but seconds later the other car went into reverse and smashed into the front of her vehicle.
In a state of shock and panic, Natasha first suspected she was a victim of road rage.
But the four passengers of the vehicle slowly stepped out of their car, holding their heads as though they had been injured.
They also started taking photos and video of Natasha’s car.
I was in a state of shock, and I thought it was all pretty sketchy
Ashpia Natasha
“They had their rear window covered, but I was on the phone to my husband who said for me to make sure I was okay and that they were okay.”
At the time she thought it was an accident, but a revision of her dash cam footage from her car revealed something else entirely.
Natasha now believes that she narrowly escaped insurance fraud.
Natasha immediately went to the police, who told her they could not do anything until she had received a report from her insurer.
Frustrated by the situation – and wanting to alert other drivers of her experience – Natasha uploaded the dash cam footage to Tik Tok.
The video took off online, and has now been viewed over 72 million times at the time of writing.
She now wants to warn all consumers of the dangers of insurance fraud.
HOW TO PREVENT INSURANCE FRAUD
Insurance fraud is a deliberate deception to gain an unfair advantage or financial benefit, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau which tracks insurance claims.
The incident is known as a “swoop and squat” staged car collision in which people use to stage a fake car accident and make it appear as if it is your fault.
Natasha’s insurance will cover the $8,300 in damages to her car and the New York Police Department are now investigating the incident.
She believes the only reason she was able to prevent the losses is because of her dash cam, allowing her to go back and review the footage more carefully.
Her husband installed the dash cam to her car when she bought it because she had been in an accident before and said it was “their word against mine”.
“I was frustrated because I felt like I had the evidence and I wasn’t being helped,” Natasha said.
“The total damages to my car was $8,300 but I can confidently say that having a dash cam has saved me so much time and hassle with the insurance company.
“Without the proof from the dash cam, the expense from the damages to both cars and possible “injury” would’ve been catastrophic.”
Immediately after the incident Natasha called the police who told her they don’t attend crashes unless people are injured.
Natasha exchanged numbers with the woman who she thought was driving.
She also realized there was a second vehicle involved, a red Kia, who had been following her car behind which she now has evidence through the camera she had on her rear window.
The rear dash cam revealed the Kia tailing her closely and putting their hazard lights on after the crash. The red car pulled in front of the Honda and the fourth person got into it soon after and drove away.
Reviewing the footage when she was home, Natasha realized the passengers of the Honda covered up the back windshield immediately after the collision.
She believes they were hiding something in the car, with the driver swapping places with the front passenger.
Experts say installing a dash cam can be a very helpful way to protect yourself against incidents such as Natasha’s case.
