Several Burke Mountain residents woke up to a nasty surprise Wednesday morning when they discovered their vehicles had been keyed — including one with a swastika carved into the door.
Coquitlam RCMP said about 25 vehicles were damaged, mainly in the 3300-block of Highland Avenue, west of Coast Meridian Road. In addition to entire side panels being keyed several vehicles had door locks and mirror smashed.
Carolyn Cowe discovered her vehicle had been keyed and is now facing the hassle of getting it repaired, along with the $300 ICBC deductible.
"It's just a pain," said Cowe, who was at home recovering from dental surgery. "It's major damage, the whole side of my car, and they took my lock right off. It's just frustrating."
Some of those affected questioned whether the deductible could be waived, considering the large number of vehicles that were vandalized, but an ICBC spokesperson said such a claim falls under motorists' optional insurance, which not everyone carries or has it through a private insurance company.
"Like other insurance agencies, ICBC doesn’t normally waive deductibles," said Joanna Linsangan of ICBC in an email to The Tri-City News. "In rare circumstances, where we have a liable third party that agrees to pay for the deductible, we will waive the fee. But this only happens if we have an agreement beforehand and ICBC is guaranteed to recover the costs.
"When a customer purchases their auto insurance plan through their broker, they agree to pay for the deductible when they make a claim, while ICBC agrees to be responsible for the damages. Every auto insurer would handle this type of claim in this way."
Coquitlam RCMP Const. Jamie Phillipson said investigators were canvassing the neighbourhood, primarily looking for anybody with video surveillance outside their homes that could help police identify a suspect.
"It's thousands of dollars worth of damage in what can only be described as a senseless act of vandalism," Phillipson said, adding that the use of the swastika is "extremely troubling."
Anyone with information and/or surveillance footage to provide is asked to contact Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2016-4339.
