By Steven Symes 
A perfectly good Dodge Charger Hellcat (with some front end damage) was left just abandoned in Santa Cruz County, California recently. As you can see from the photos, California Highway Patrol came across the Mopar which was dangling from a guy wire for a utility pole.
Police lay a trap for a Hellcat, then all hell breaks loose.
We’ve seen this sort of thing before, but usually there’s some crazy story of a car accident and the vehicle riding up the wire after. But there’s none of that in this case. In fact, there’s no story at all.
When officers came across this Hellcat, it was just abandoned with no driver in sight. Why the person took off isn’t clear, although there are some possibilities. As CHP notes, leaving the scene of a crash like this can result in misdemeanor charges because it’s against the law.
One possible explanation is that the Charger was stolen. Obviously, car thieves just aren’t as careful with a vehicle they don’t own and don’t have any true responsibility towards. Plus, many thieves will go joyriding in boosted rides.
In other words, while driving recklessly, a thief might have crashed this car, then taken off instead of sticking around so the cops would catch him.
Another possibility is the owner of the Hellcat was in fact behind the wheel and intoxicated, which it was crashed in such an odd way. We’re not even sure what the driver had to do to get the car over the barrier and onto the guy wire.
Knowing that sticking around to talk to the police would result in a citation for DUI, the driver took off, called a friend, or maybe got an Uber. Then the owner can report the Dodge Hellcat stolen and claim someone else wrecked it, collecting the insurance money.
We hate to say it, but this does happen.
Either way, this Dodge Charger Hellcat is going to need some work with damage to the front fascia and what appears to be a coolant leak, perhaps from the radiator ruptured. Hopefully it’s treated properly in the future instead of abused like this.
Image via CHP – Santa Cruz/Facebook