Parking Lot Drama

Megan, Oliver, and I went shopping today at a used clothing store for children. When we arrived, a large silver SUV pulled into the spot beside us. The driver seemed to struggle as she parked, pulling in, backing out, and trying again until she finally settled in.

After she stopped, I looked over at her and she waved for me to get out first. Once I stepped out, I got her attention and said loudly, “We have a baby to get out of the car. Would you like to go first?”

She replied, “I’ll wait.”

Except—she didn’t.

As I stood there holding Megan’s back car door (with my hand between both car doors) so Megan could safely unbuckle Oliver from his car seat, the woman began driving her SUV forward. The pull of her moving forward tugged on our door slightly toward her vehicle, and I instinctively pulled it back toward Megan and the baby.

I watched in disbelief as she continued to move forward. At the time, I didn’t see any visible marks on her very dusty SUV.

Once Oliver was free, the three of us went into the store and started browsing. About ten minutes later, the same woman walked in and confronted us, insisting that our car door had scraped her vehicle and that she wanted Megan’s insurance information to get it repaired.

Megan calmly told her that the door hadn’t touched her SUV. The woman, however, was adamant—she said she heard it scrape. Megan repeated that she wasn’t giving out her insurance because there had been no contact. The woman eventually walked away.

A few minutes later, she returned—with her two young children in tow—and said, “Look, if you want to keep this out of insurance, it’ll cost $300 to repair.” Megan once again said no.

And then she came back again, this time saying she was going to file a police report. Megan told her, “Okay, file a police report. I didn’t hit your car.”

Megan mentioned that the store might have security cameras, so the owner let them review the footage. Unfortunately, the video angle only showed our door open—it didn’t show whether the door touched her SUV. After she drove off, it showed me opening the door further, which of course proves nothing either way.

When we eventually left the store about twenty minutes later, the woman and her children were standing out front of the store. She didn’t say a word. I asked Megan to take a photo of the woman's car where the supposed damage occurred. It looked like something white had scraped it at some point today.

Later, Megan told me that the woman had told the store owner she moved forward because we were taking too long to get the baby out. She also claimed that Megan “fled the scene.” Now, I’ll admit Megan walked into the store ahead of me. As for me, I’m not capable of fleeing much of anything these days. Let’s just say I move at a more leisurely pace.

The truth is, none of us know each other. It’s not like me to assume someone is lying—but I was right there, hand on the door, and I didn’t feel or hear a scrape. My fingers aren’t scratched, and there’s no paint transfer or damage on Megan’s car door (other than at the very bottom from normal wear). 

After I finished writing all this down, Megan called to say a police officer had phoned her. She told him what happened. The officer said that by law, she should’ve exchanged information at the scene. Megan told him she had not because she had not damaged the car. He acknowledged that he understood. He also told Megan that he told the other woman that since she moved forward while our car door was open, any damage would be her responsibility, not Megan’s.

If I had in fact been the one to cause the damage, I know exactly what I would have done: exchanged information, taken plenty of photos, had her get a couple of estimates, written up a release, and then paid the body shop directly. That’s just how I do things.

So now I’m curious—
How would you have handled the situation?