Let this be a lesson to everyone.
We don’t condone street racing or those stupid street takeover events people erroneously call street racing. Taking part in those kinds of activities not only puts you at risk, you’re endangering innocent people on the road. However, if you do go street racing, don’t then make an insurance claim when you inevitably crash. That’s exactly what Michael Lynn Cooper, 55, of Ontario, California is accused of doing and the man’s now facing multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and grand theft.
A recent Camaro street racing crash resulted in tragedy for three, see the updates here.
The incident started back in April when Cooper filed a claim with his insurance provider for damage to his 2016 Dodge Challenger (reports don’t indicate what model, but we’re hoping it at least has a V8). Cooper claimed his car was sideswiped when another vehicle tried to race him, but of course he was being a responsible, level-headed adult and was just trying to mind his own business.
Anyway, the alleged sideswiping apparently led to Cooper losing control and hitting a building. Debris damaged two other cars. In total, the claim was for $35,321. After dealing with the sea of paperwork to complete the claim it seemed like everything was over.
But in May the insurance company received a video of what appeared to be Cooper street racing before the accident. That’s when the case was referred to the California Department of Insurance, which cooperated with the Ontario Police Department in an investigation.
What CDI and the police determined was that not only was Cooper street racing before the crash, he was driving at over 100 mph on public roads. His insurance policy specifically doesn’t cover damage from incidents while street racing, and Cooper told police he wasn’t racing but was just driving down the road. That means he’s also facing charges for giving false statements to a peace officer and street racing. Cooper has been booked into jail and has remained there since October 28.
Source: Insurance Journal
