Mailman caught on camera sideswiping car, driving off

EVERETT -- The post office delivers through rain, sleet and snow, but an Everett couple said what their mailman brought to their door is not what they expected.

For months they’ve been tangled in government red tape until Q13 Fox News started to investigate.

“They have to paint the whole entire front corner of the car and then clear the whole thing,” said Jon Hume, “The front inner fender well is popped out, the front bumper is popped off of its hanger, headlights clips are broken.”

“My car was parked in my driveway where it was supposed to be and he hit my car,” said Mackenzie Starr.

Starr, and her boyfriend, Hume, said their mailman bumped into her 2001 BMW. Starr’s estimate shows it will cost more than $1,000 to repair, but they’re still waiting for the Postal Service to step up.

“Well, two and a half months is just too long,” said Starr. “It’s obvious what happened. I feel like I’m just running in circles with them and I just want my car fixed.”

“They can’t take care of their own problems or admit to a problem that they did,” said Hume. “We have it on film, so, film doesn’t lie."

The incident was caught on surveillance video, and Starr said the mailman didn’t report the incident to police so she filed her own report. But 10 weeks later, Starr says, she’s still getting the runaround from the post office.

“You’d like to think that your mailmen are safe drivers and they’re not going to damage your property, but I guess I’m wrong,” said Starr.

Starr’s mailman is still on the job.

Q13 Fox News caught up with mailman Jagdev Garcha to get his side of the story.

“I didn’t know,” he said. “I deliver mail, I get out, I felt something, I get out and check it and nothing happened to my truck.”

Garcha maintains he didn’t see any damage on his Postal Service van – the surveillance video shows him returning to the vehicle and leaving the scene.

Starr said it wasn’t until Q13 Fox News began investigating that the Postal Service cut the red tape.

Starr said a postal employee called her on Wednesday and, “She asked me for two estimates and that she’d take care of them right away.”

A post office spokesman said the mailman wasn’t disciplined for the accident because they don’t believe the damage was significant.

Everett police has referred the case to the prosecutor’s office – and they will decide whether or not to press charges against Garcha.