Mailbox smashed in hit and run, leaving $5000 damage

A truck that is believed to have hit and destroyed a brick mailbox in Kensington before driving off has left an estimated $5000 damage bill.

North West City News has been told that a small unmarked white truck backed into the mailbox at a block of units on Westbourne Rd sometime between 2 pm and 4 pm on September 26, causing significant damage.  

Eugene, who lives at one of the units, said two neighbours had witnessed the incident where a “couple of guys” got out of the truck and “moved some of the bricks” before driving off and making no attempt to leave their details at the scene. 

“I was home, but I didn’t hear it. My neighbour walked out and saw it … I just remembered being really shocked at the time that someone would just drive off,” Eugene, who asked not to use his surname, said.

“It was really brazen … it sounds like they drove in and cleaned it up a bit and drove off so it made it look like they had taken responsibility.”

When he was first told of the incident, Eugene said he initially thought it was “delayed aftershock of the earthquake” which had hit Victoria four days earlier.

He said unfortunately no witnesses were able to obtain a registration number of the truck which was described about the size of a “Coles delivery truck”.

It meant residents were left to foot the bill for the damage which was estimated to be $5000 to match the bricks and “just to put back the structure”.

Eugene said temporary letterboxes had been installed after workers were called to tidy up the wreckage.

But he and his three neighbours at the block of units hoped the repairs would be covered through their body corporate insurance.

However, Eugene said he was disappointed after he called police to make a report of the damage but was told they couldn’t investigate due to there being “no offender’s details” or “registration of the vehicle”.   

In the meantime, Eugene posted a photo of the damage to the Kensington Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page in the hope to appeal to anyone with information.

A local said their partner saw the truck pull into a carpark soon after hitting the mailbox before “two guys” got out and “picked some of the bricks”.   

“We didn’t get too concerned over it as they didn’t rush off,” they responded in Eugene’s post.

According to Eugene, the occupants of the truck “did a pretty good cover up act of pretending to take responsibility and then drive off”.

Whittles Body Corporate Management Services, which manages the units on Westbourne Rd, declined to comment saying it was company policy not to speak to the media •

Caption: Eugene hopes the damage will be covered through their body corporate insurance.