So, there he was, minding his own business while shopping for groceries at the Mount de Chantal Kroger.
David Comack, owner of Taqueria 304 on Market Street in downtown Wheeling, needed a few family essentials, so he drove his new-to-him 2015 Subaru Outback and parked in the same large lot like he has on thousands of occasions. This time, though, proved much different than any other time.
“I drove my new car to the store to get some groceries yesterday morning around 10 a.m., and when I came out, I noticed the dent,” the eatery owner recounted. “I parked a few rows from the gas station to get closer to the front door like I had many, many other times. I’ve been going to that Kroger ever since it opened, and now as an adult, it’s where I go for our groceries and for things for the restaurant.
“It was the last thing I expected to happen after going there so many times,” Comack said. “I did call the police and file a report, and they told me they would investigate. And they did. An officer stopped into (Taqueria 304) a little later. They had called but I was busy prepping for the day.”
Zero Video
There was not a note on the window or taped to the injured area of the vehicle, and no one in the lot saw a thing.
Plus, after the police officer visited the eatery, Comack was left without any evidence. No make or model of the car. No plate numbers. No possible way to identify the guilty driver.
“What the officer explained to me was that my car was parked in between two of Kroger’s cameras so my car was not in view of either one,” he said. “The officer also explained that the store’s cameras are pointed in directions to record anything that could happen close to the building and that they are not intended to record what goes on in the parking lot.
“I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Comack said. “There were a lot of people there when I went in the morning, and but I wasn’t in the store for very long. And happened that quick.”
History and Future
Over the past 50 years, Kroger has been located in three locations along or near National Road in the Woodsdale neighborhood of Wheeling.
In the early 1970s, Kroger operated on the property where CVS Pharmacy is located today before the Columbus-based company constructed a much larger store next to St. Michael School by 1980. The current location, which rests on a small peninsula along Big Wheeling Creek near the Linsly School campus, has been in operation for more than 20 years.
The store features a pharmacy, extensive deli, produce, and meat and seafood areas along with multiple aisles with the usual grocery items. Plus, the Mount de Chantal Kroger offers a sushi counter and a Starbucks.
“Oh, I’ll go back for sure,” Comack said. “That Kroger is my go-to grocery store. We only live about three miles away from it so it’s the most convenient option for us. And yeah, I’m going to pay attention to where I park from now. Probably won’t be worried about the short walk to the front door anymore.
“I was hoping the video would get something like a license plate or even what kind of car it was, but the officer said in these kinds of cases, that information isn’t on the videos very often,” he lamented. “Generally, people are good people, but sometimes they’re not.”
Unless someone comes forward and admits guilty or an eyewitness responds to this article or to Comack’s Facebook post about the hit-and-run incident, his only recourse is to file a claim with his insurance provider and hope for the best.
“I think everything will be covered by the insurance because the driver didn’t show up to the scene and the car is covered,” Comack said. “But yeah, this stung a little bit for sure, but that’s life sometimes.”
If anyone has information that could assist law enforcement with finding the guilty motorist, they should call the non-emergency number at 304-234-3664.
