Can anyone help in identifying Styrofoam bumper backing material left at the scene of a hit and run property damage accident? See attached photo: Upper left number (partial) is “747”. Lower left lettering (partial) is “OPRANO FRT”. Upper right lettering is “SAE >PP<”. Lower right lettering is “JSPI LORRO”. Photo of front view is also attached. No other material was left at the scene. Is there any way to identify the make / model from this?
No idea. Maybe take it by a body shop, they deal with those parts all the time.
Maybe your auto insurer could figure it out.
If you are wanting compensation for damage knowing what the parts came from will not do any good. Without a witness or tag number of vehicle you are just out of luck. The foam was most likely used in many different vehicle.
I remember a property damage hit and run around 1970. Bumper with license plate attached was left at the scene. A few days ago a pedestrian hit and run was on the news. License plate was found on scene. Dumb and dumber! Of course legally identifying the driver is difficult but the vehicle owner is liable.
Thanks for the comments all. Whatever car this was, it nailed a lot of stuff in my neighborhood on the same night. I was hoping to narrow it down on the off chance I might see a car with front end damage around town. I was also thinking of taking a stroll through the high school parking lot to look for a damaged car. Long shot, I know, but I’ve solved two other “incidents” that way.
Good question. You never know when asking will pay off.
Actually its just a job for the police. That’s what they do-collect evidence, investigate, identify suspects. Been there though. Even if you find the car, you need more to pin it on them.
They look like the foam that cover the actual steel bumper behind the plastic bumper cover. Just my guess.
Yes, the police might be the right people to investigate the problem. You should certainly alert them to it. They might put your neighborhood on the patrol route. We had a problem with someone going through the neighborhood destroying mailboxes. This happened several times and each time the police were notified. My wife was outside one night and watched a car drive by and someone leaned out of the passenger window and knocked down mailboxes with a baseball bat. She got a description of the car and called the police. A police car was in the neighborhood, and caught them.
Hmm, 2001 Grand Prix se.
How extensively the police are going to investigate this “property damage” accident depends entirely on where the OP lives. No police department in any metropolitan area is going to (or can) invest the time and resources.
Although, since “it nailed a lot of stuff in my neighborhood on the same night” this one just might go on their hot list.
I live in a pretty bad neighborhood, actually
If this happened here, I’ll bet all of you guys lunch, the police would basically do nothing
Going through a school parking lot looking at all the cars sounds like a good way to have a meeting with police officers and possible trespassing charges.
Edit: texases questioned this post, I will try to clarify. My neighbor is a school Superintendent and if someone is seen on school grounds they will be watched and if their conduct is concerning the police will be called. Just recently a person was found in the parking lot car hopping (going from vehicle to vehicle looking for unlocked doors to take what ever they could). When you have children to protect caution is first.
? I imagine an explanation to the cop would get him looking, too.
You have a point, @db4690. A friend used to live in what became a bad area. He was robbed at gunpoint in his own driveway twice. He reported it to the police, and they asked if anyone was hurt. Since no one was hurt, they weren’t going to do anything. For armed robbery.
Yeah, police were notified in this case. The officer was not interested in the parts at all. She did say she was going to cruise around the neighborhood.
Might this be a non-US car?
Not enough numbers on that piece of foam. ( pic 1, upper left has only three digits )
Gonna be pretty hard to look around a parking lot for similar . .
because ?
That piece fell out from INSIDE or BEHIND a bumper cover. Just a shape filling foam .
BUT . .
knowing that,
visit body shops who may recognise a part not normaly seen by real people.
I live in a pretty bad neighborhood, actuallyIf this happened here, I’ll bet all of you guys lunch, the police would basically do nothing
I live in a pretty NICE neighborhood…and the police wouldn’t do anything either.