It was a very early morning drive to work.
“I was going normal speed, about 65 to 75 mph,” San Diego resident Mike Spragley said. “It was extremely foggy, low visibility that morning, and there was a Target shopping cart in between the No. 1 and 2 lanes, which is the fast lane and the one next to it.”
Spragley slammed into the cart.
“It just literally came out of nowhere,” Spragley said. “The cart literally exploded, sending chunks and chunks of debris everywhere.”
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California Highway Patrol told him a report came in about the cart just three minutes before he hit it, leaving $6,000 worth of damage to his front bumper, hood, two doors, mirror and windshield-wiper reservoir.
The aftermath might have been less painful if he had been fully insured, but the problem was, Spragley couldn’t find anyone to write him a policy before the crash.
Why? Because hs car is considered high risk, but not because Spragley had done anything.
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“It was something called the Kia Soul Challenge on TikTok,” he said. “So, people were stealing Kia Souls. Kia actually did a recall. They became very easy to steal. But insurance companies in the state of California were not willing to write full coverage for the car. So, I only had basic liability.”
The Kia Soul Challenge went viral back in 2022. Thieves took the cars with just a screwdriver and USB cable.
“The trend is starting to die down a little bit,” said Bob Passmore with the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. “One piece of advice would be: Go directly to the companies. You know, it's never been easier to shop for insurance.”
Spragley went through at least six companies to get a policy, but they all turned him down.
The one potential "yes" came mere hours AFTER his accident.
“It's really kind of sad that I'm in this situation right now,” Spragley said.
Spragley’s Plan B is to gather his friends to find the parts he needs at scrap yards to save some cash.
After all is said and done, though, he doesn’t regret buying his Kia a month ago. In fact, he said he'd probably buy another one.
“I think the Kia Soul saved my life,” Spragley said. “If I hit it anywhere else or probably with other cars unless it’s a big SUV, I'd probably be dead.”
Passmore suggests if someone feels they’ve been wronged while shopping around for auto quotes, they should report it to the California Department of Insurance.
