A business owner in the Greater Sudbury community of Val Caron is frustrated after recent damage to the premises.
Marc’s Auto Sales and Service posted a video to its Facebook page on August 8 showing an all terrain vehicle smashing into the business. The rider of the ATV appears to jump off the machine before the collision occurs, quickly grabs the machine after the crash, and then walks quickly away while pushing the vehicle.
The ATV crash smashed the glass out of the office door.
Greater Sudbury Police have been contacted and the business is appealing to the public if they witnessed anything or have any information in regards to the incident, to come forward.
Marc Charbonneau has owned this shop for 28 years and says his experience with ATV riders in the area has always been positive.
"Most of the time they're not reckless. You see them drive through. Some of them actually cut through our parking lot, snowmobiles in the winter, they're normally very cautious. They usually don't get away too often flying through because there's lots of traffic," said Charbonneau.
Charbonneau says after speaking with police he decided to share the video on social media in hopes of getting more information.
"The response, it was just one person after another. I think we had 15,000 views on it and posts daily, even up until this morning. They even gave us his name, address, everything on Facebook," said Charbonneau.
"Well, we have seen it on video, it's been sent to us. We have an ATV identified, and we're in the process of identifying the driver," said Constable Rick Carr, of Greater Sudbury Police Service.
Carr says many times, ATV collisions occur because of uneven terrain and/or the driver is going too fast. He says there are many things drivers can do to stay safe.
"Well, no alcohol; whether it's a motor vehicle or an off-road vehicle. Wear the necessary safety equipment," said Carr. "…on an ATV, just a helmet would be required."
Carr says many people don't realize all of the rules surrounding the ATV by-law that was in enacted in 2015. It permits drivers to use some municipal roads; however, they must have a licence and insurance to do so. A full list of available roads can be found on the city's website.
