Hit and Run - minor property damage

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon

Last night after picking up pizza, I drove through an alley. I turned thinking the alley went through to the next street. It did not, instead, it was a single lane dead-end. I needed to turn around. A car pulled in behind me. I had to move forward and back multiple times to turn around. It was dark. I didn't see anything behind me. The last time I backed up I felt a tiny bump, like I just 'kissed' whatever was behind me. I finished turning around and passed the car waiting to pull in.

Today, a county sheriff deputy came to my home and asked where I had been driving the night before. I reviewed with him that I went to the grocery store, then to pick my son up from basketball practice, then to pick up the pizza, etc. I didn't know what he was talking about. Finally, after some discussion with the deputy, I realized I must have bumped something in the alley, and the person waiting behind me saw it, took down my license plate number, and reported it to the authorities.

The deputy and I looked at my back bumper. (Plastic bumper.) There was a very small green line. Turns out I 'kissed' an old green metal heating/air conditioner unit. The deputy cited me for an Oregon 811.700, failure to perform duties of a driver, because I didn't report it. I go to Circuit court in January.

I went to the alley and took pictures. There is no damage, or mark where my car bumped the heating unit. However, the metal housing moved a few inches (it was not bolted down) that caused a small, 90-degree-angled PVC pipe to move. This is the only damage. I think the PVC pipe houses the electrical cord.

I plan to contact the store owner & landlord tomorrow to take care of damages. The deputy says the fine could be up to $2500. Will this go on my driving record? How should I handle the court date in January?

Best way to handle court is to be remorseful and hope for the best.

Your insurance, if you have it, will take care of the claim for you. Making sure the damage is paid for before you go to court will show your good faith.

Thanks for your reply. Should I report this to my insurance? I'm thinking the cost of the damage will be very minimal. The heating unit continues to work. (I talked to the manager in the store today.) It looks like 12 inches of plastic PVC pipe might need to be replaced.

I'll be contacting the owner of the building tomorrow.

Will this go on my driving record? Will the insurance company find out anyway? Will it depend on the judges verdict?

Thanks!

The insurance company will find out either way.

You should report it to your insurance company right away. As the poster above me said, they will find out about it. It's better to notify them now, because if you wait too long they may refuse to pay the claim because you did not notify them in a timely manner.

Any time you hit something with your vehicle you should stop the car to get out and check for damage. You're very lucky that you only hit an air conditioning unit. It could have been an animal or, worse, a person. And you would never have known you ran over somebody because you didn't stop to check.