Man peeved after he’s forced to self-report hit-and-run crash

Gary Cameron was jolted awake with a crashing sound at about
12:45 a.m. Sunday.
Gary Cameron was jolted awake with a crashing sound at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

When Cameron, 69, went outside his home, he found his 1992 Dodge Ram 250 pickup truck smashed against a tree on the Westward Drive side of his Valley View Road home. The sound woke not only Cameron, but also neighbors around the intersection where he lives.

An ‘S’-shaped tire track leading from Gloria Drive – narrowly missing a Cadillac a few houses down and a trailer across the street – shows the path of the responsible vehicle. Someone had swerved into the side of his pickup, a 15-year-old vehicle with about 111,000 miles.

Cameron called the San Benito County dispatcher, who told him Hollister police officers would not respond because he had no suspect description.

The truck suffered major damage – both sides were smashed and one of four new tires was flattened. The impact was great enough to push the pickup onto the sidewalk.

The response, or lack thereof, from the Hollister Police Department has Cameron upset. The department has limited service due to budget cuts earlier in the year, and Cameron will have to self-report the crime.

Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said the dispatchers prioritize calls based on severity and solvability. If a property crime such as a hit-and-run does not have a suspect, officers may not respond.

In August, San Benito County Marshal Robbie Scattini’s mailbox was destroyed with a homemade pipe bomb. A responding officer told Scattini to self-report that crime as a misdemeanor, but the department later began investigating it as a felony.

“I sympathize with the police department,” Cameron said. “I know they’re understaffed. I know the city has a financial problem. I guess my concern is – something should be done.”

The retiree said he believes the department should, at least, do an initial assessment of the scene.

He also questioned the department’s priorities for investigating crimes, which would have officers responding to an in-progress shoplifting case instead of the thousands of dollars in damage to his car.

“The amount of damage doesn’t really have a baring on the solvability of the case,” Miller said.

And officer resources were limited at 1 a.m. Sunday, with calls throughout Hollister.

At 12:51 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to a call of an altercation on East Nash Road from which witnesses reported a gunshot, police reported.

Five minutes later, officers were called to the 500 block of Recht Street for a possible drive-by shooting. An occupied home was targeted with a single gunshot, police reported.

Miller said that in the 10 minutes prior to the hit and run, there were calls of an assault with a deadly weapon, a reckless driver and a suspicious vehicle.

“We had a lot going on at that time,” the chief said.

With the passage of Measure T this month, the Hollister Police Department’s crime response will most likely change, but not immediately, Miller said.

“Ideally, what I would like to do is respond to all the accidents,” Miller said.

Miller added that he understands citizens’ frustrations and that the department is frustrated as well.

“We’re not happy about that,” Miller said. “We’re not thrilled that has to have a lower priority.”

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run Sunday morning on Westward Drive should call the Hollister Police Department at 831-636-4330.