VANCOUVER — An online video showing the end of a teen's joy ride may be funny to viewers, but it wasn't a laughing matter for his mother or police in Vancouver.
The YouTube video of a white Porsche Cayenne repeatedly being smashed into the walls of a garage in a failed parking attempt has received over 90,000 views in less than 24 hours.
Const. Brian Montague said Wednesday that the car has been linked to a hit and run reported on June 16, when a white Porsche struck a parked vehicle in a residential neighbourhood.
He said a 16-year-old boy who does not have a licence had driven his mother's Porsche without her permission.
Police made the connection after receiving a video from the Insurance Corp. of B.C., showing a white Porsche Cayenne being rammed into the frame of a garage door.
"We looked at the video and were able to connect the dots quite quickly," Montague said.
"(He) got involved in this hit and run and appears to have panicked and instead of doing the right thing and realizing that he had made some mistakes. He compounded them by making the decision to run."
That decision led to more damage, captured on a bystander's video.
"You can tell by the video he appears quite panicked in trying to get this car hidden away back into the garage, causing again more damage to not only the car but the garage," Montague said.
Criminal charges have not been laid because no one was injured.
However, the youth faces charges under the Motor Vehicle Act, including hit and run, driving without due care and attention and driving without a licence.
The charges will come with fines, in addition to the thousands of dollars in damage the teen will be responsible for, Montague said.
"When he applies for a driver's licence down the road, it is possible that the superintendent of motor vehicles can deny that."
