No. 2: ‘What the Hay!’
Strangely, there was hay and dry grass stuffed into the vehicle’s engine area. SIU investigators also discovered hay stuffed into the headlight areas of the vehicle. What the hay? Turns out the vehicle owner was trying to destroy his vehicle by setting it on fire.
The vehicle owner claimed he was attending a party out of the city and noticed a large fire in a hay field. As he told the story, he quickly jumped in his vehicle and, accompanied by a few pals, drove out to investigate.
The vehicle owner claims he emptied a fire extinguisher in failed attempts to snuff the fire. As he told his adjuster, the fire then engulfed his vehicle. But the story didn’t add up. In addition to the suspicious placing of hay, the SIU arson investigator would discover an accelerant had been liberally splashed throughout the passenger compartment.
Faced with all the facts, the vehicle owner chose to withdraw his claim. The savings to Manitoba Public Insurance customers was nearly $14,000.
