Sam Flores noticed the note left on his car just before noticing the huge dent on the car’s right side. I saw this car hit your car, call me if you want to know more, said the scribble on the piece of paper, followed by a phone number.

During the fall semester of 2003, Flores was a victim of a hit-and-run, which damaged part of his parked car while on campus.

His car, which he left in the carpool parking lot near the student dorms, was hit by a car pulling out of the lot whose driver neglected to take responsibility for the damage.

Luckily for Flores, someone witnessed the hit-and-run and was able to take down the license plate for him, just in case.

Without that note, it would’ve been all on me to fix it, said Flores, who went to the campus police shortly afterwards to file a report and have them contact the culprit.

After a damage comparison on the two cars, Flores filed a claim with his insurance company and got his bumper replaced, costing around $7,000.

Hit-and-run accidents are not uncommon at Sacramento State, said Sgt. Kelly Clark of the campus police.

We get about two to four reports a week, Clark said.

In general, Clark said the damage is minor, but sometimes people get strapped with thousands of dollars in damage.

People driving too fast and overloaded parking spots are some causes of the hit-and-runs, Clark said.

According to the campus police’s media log, there have been more than 30 incidents of hit-and-run since the start of the 2004-05 academic year.

Putting in a claim to the insurance company doesn’t necessarily fix the situation.

Claims can make insurance rates rise, depending on many factors, said Don Lukenbill, communications director of American Agents Alliance, a member-driven organization for independent insurance producers and consumers.

Lukenbill said depending on the amount of previous claims, the type of automobile, location, driver’s age and length of time the individual has been licensed all goes into consideration for whether insurance rates will rise after a claim is made.

Clean driving records will (also) keep rates from rising, he said.

The type of coverage matters, as well.

If you are not fully covered with both liability and collision insurance and you only have liability, the insurance company will not pay for the hit-and-run damage, Lukenbill said.

He said collision insurance is important. If accident damage costs more than the deductible, which can range from $100 to $500, that is money that would otherwise come out of the individual’s pocket.

Hit-and-runs are not only happening at Sac State.

Alexi Apostolos, a freshman and liberal studies major, said she was parked in front of Safeway when someone hit her 1998 Eclipse, popping off one of her front lights and taking off some of the paint on her bumper.

No one left anything, no insurance information or number, Apostolos said.

The damage ended up costing her $1,000 to fix.

They’re terrible, Apostolos said. Every person should leave their information or at least wait.

She said she thinks people get scared and try to get away with it if they can.

Nicole Sbranti, a communications and marketing major, said she had been waiting at a red light at the intersection of Howe Avenue and College Town Road when someone rear-ended her car.

She said the other person took off when she pulled over to exchange information.

I called my dad and started crying, Sbranti said.

Her car’s entire back end had been smashed and the trunk would no longer close.

She filed a collision claim with her insurance company, which helped pay for the $2,500 in damage.

Police said they couldn’t do anything without a license plate number, said Sbranti, who never caught the person responsible for hitting her car.

A small dent or scratch can cost anywhere from $500 to $5,000, said Alex Nocon, manager of the Automotive Trade Organization of California.

He said the whole bumper must be replaced if even a small piece of it is damaged in order for the car to look the same.

Nocon said his 2000 Ford Explorer was hit on the driver side’s rear bumper, damaging the bumper, tail pipe and paneling.

After replacing his entire bumper, the damage cost $7,000 to fix.

It really depends on the car, the newer the car, the more expensive, Nocon said.

Sarah Pollo can be reached at [email protected]