Oct 22, 2024
NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) - Ashpia Natasha can be heard on her vehicle's dashcam video after the driver of a gray Honda suddenly cut her off last Wednesday morning on the Belt Parkway on Queens. It was a moment before that same driver suddenly put the Honda in reverse and slammed back into Natasha's vehicle, while she was on speakerphone with her husband. She's heard telling her husband, "Oh my God! What is he doing? Babe! Oh my God, I got into an accident. I got into an accident." Or so she thought, in the moment. "My first instinct was that I was involved in some kind of road rage. I was kind of in shock. There was a lot going on," said Natasha. Footage appears to show moment helicopter crash topples radio tower in Houston But in hindsight, after looking back at the video, Natasha now suspects what was made to look like an accident was really a staged collision so that the people in the Honda could commit insurance fraud.  The first clue was that the people in the car can be seen momentarily covering up the back window before the man who Natasha saw driving suddenly exited from the passenger side of the Honda.  Meanwhile, another man is seen getting out and slowly walking ahead. He got into a waiting maroon-colored vehicle that also stopped before it sped off.   Natasha said she exchanged information with the man who stayed behind. She said the police did not respond to the scene, which is typical for accidents that do not involve any serious injuries.   But the damage to Natasha's vehicle, almost $8,000 worth, was significant. Luckily, it's being covered by her insurance carrier. "I watched the video multiple times and that's when it hit me that, oh my God, this is probably a setup. I'm pretty furious. I didn't think that this was a thing," said Natasha.  It is; so much so that AAA recommends the following tips: Be alert Don't tailgate Know if you're at risk (if driving a luxury or commercial vehicle) Consider a dashcam AAA recommends that if you do find yourself involved in what you suspect is a staged collision: Get to safety and get out of traffic, if possible. Collect all the information you can such as photos of the other person's driver's license, their vehicle identification number, their insurance policy number, their license plate number and their vehicle. As for Natasha's alleged perpetrators, after collecting her information, and presumably noticing she had a dashcam, they drove off.  "To hear that so many people have reached out to me, telling me something like this happened to them, just to put someone's life out there at risk, is ridiculous to me, and I'm really hoping to get some justice for this," said Natasha. An NYPD spokesperson said police are investigating the incident.
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