Van owner must foot the bill after hit-and-run police chase


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WEST JORDAN – An accused burglar rammed into Kat Morris' parked van two months ago. Now she’s learning she has to cough up the cash for the damage out of her own pocket.

On March 21, Morris parked her van outside of her parents’ home in the driveway when it was hit by an alleged burglar who police say stole a pickup truck and fled. West Jordan officers gave chase, but during the pursuit the suspect took a sharp turn onto 9000 South and Julie Ann lane, took out a street sign and crashed into two cars parked in a driveway – including Morris' van.

“I’m between a rock and a hard place," Morris said.

After calling Progressive, her auto insurance company, the truck owner’s auto insurance company, and even her parents' homeowners insurance company, Morris said, “All of them have rejected my claims.”

Morris has liability auto insurance with uninsured motorist injury protection – meaning if she’s hit in an accident and is injured by a driver who is uninsured, she’s covered. But she found out that does not cover any damage to her vehicle, something she said she was never aware of.

“I paid for the coverage, however, they didn’t say, 'Oh it’s not going to cover any damage, only bodily injury,'” Morris said.

“She’s kind of out of luck there,” Johnathan Laker, independent insurance agent with One Stop Insurance, explains. One Stop Insurance is not Morris' insurance company.

If you don’t ask your agent the right questions, this sort of thing can happen.

Laker said uninsured motorist injury protection is different from uninsured motorist property damage protection and Morris needed the latter to be covered.

Meanwhile, Morris said she feels duped by her insurance company and is now left without a van and with a $5,000 lesson.

“It wasn’t my fault, I mean, I’m a victim here and not only was I victimized once by the (alleged) criminal, but now I’m being victimized twice by the corporations.”

Morris has set up a GoFundMe campaign* if you would like to help.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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Nicole Vowell

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