MPI makes young man pay for honesty -- Recent U of M grad dunned $1,800

October 21, 2010

Sebastian Ibarra has learned that honesty doesn't always pay.

The 24-year-old, a recent graduate from the University of Manitoba, was riding his bicycle down Corydon this spring. There was a branch in the road. He swerved to miss it. In that split second he had to choose between falling into traffic or toppling over a parked car.

He picked the parked car.

After bystanders made sure he wasn't badly hurt (he wasn't, but his bike needed repairs), Ibarra checked the damage. He'd broken the tail light on a Lexus. Some people would have chosen to either ride off or pretend to write their details.

Ibarra, a foreign student from Mexico, did the right thing. He gave the absent car owner all his information, including his email address, home address and an explanation of why he doesn't have a valid licence.

Here's what he wrote in the note he left on the windshield:

"I do not have a Canadian driver's licence, however, the Manitoba government gave me a driver's exemption letter. I will scan it today and send you a PDF of this letter. The driver's licence (number) under which this permit was issued is (his licence number). The accident happened just across (from) the Red Cactus bar. I was biking through Corydon, then I tried to avoid a branch in the pavement and lost control of my bike. To avoid the traffic to my left, I balanced all my weight to the right, just where your car was."

He does have a Mexican driver's licence, a moot point, as he doesn't have a car here.

Here's what the Lexus owner emailed back:

"Thanks for being so honest! It is because of people like you who make our city great. I hope you are at least OK."

And that was it until two weeks ago when Ibarra got a letter from Manitoba Public Insurance telling him the damage to the Lexus came to $1,800. He'd have to pay the price.

Here's context on Ibarra. He supported himself throughout his university years. His parents didn't pay his tuition. He came to Winnipeg because he fell for a girl. When that ended, he stayed on. Ibarra's proud that he's graduating "only" $18,000 in debt. As an international student, he paid $15,000 a year in tuition.

The average student who attends university without parental help ends up owing $25,000.

Ibarra is now working two jobs, one as a server at a restaurant and another as a cook at a different restaurant. He says he has no idea how he can pay the MPI bill.

"As soon as I got the letter from MPI I called and asked them if there's anything they could do. They waited all this time and then they send me this bill. I thought maybe I'd have to pay the deductible, but this is crazy."

He contacted the Lexus owner again to see if he could intervene. The man was kind, but the situation is out of his hands.

MPI spokesman Brian Smiley told me this is standard operating procedure. While he couldn't discuss the specifics of Ibarra's case, he said it's not unusual to have months pass before the guilty party gets the dunning letter. First, the owner has to report the damage, then it's repaired and finally MPI tries to recover its money.

"It's irrelevant whether the person has a driver's licence or not," says Smiley. "The insurance company is trying to recover the monies from the person they believe is responsible."

In this case, they didn't have to look very hard. Ibarra left a note.

Lorraine Forbes, whose son is a friend of Ibarra's, says she's frustrated that a young man who did the right thing is ending up being financially battered.

"He's a fine person, he's an honours student," Forbes says. "He's the kind of upstanding student you want to see more of. I wish a fairy godmother could come down and help him."

Brian Smiley holds out a glimmer of hope. People in situations like Ibarra's can arrange to pay off their debts over the course of months or years.

I asked the honest cyclist if he regretted leaving his name and contact information.

"Of course not," he said. "That was the right thing to do."

lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca

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It really is the best policy -- Cyclist's integrity has readers rallying to support him

November 3, 2010

Honesty does pay.

Last week I told you about Sebastian Ibarra, a 24-year-old recent graduate of the University of Manitoba. He was riding his bicycle down Corydon this spring. There was a branch on the road. He swerved to miss it. In that split second he had to choose between falling into traffic or toppling over a parked car.

He picked the parked car. That was the beginning of his misfortune.

Ibarra, a foreign student from Mexico, did the right thing. With a note on the windshield, he gave the absent car owner his information, including his email address, home address and an explanation of why he doesn't have a valid licence.

Here's what the Lexus owner emailed back:

"Thanks for being so honest! It is because of people like you who make our city great. I hope you are at least OK."

So far, so good. Ibarra expected to have to pay the car owner's deductible. Months later, he got a letter from Manitoba Public Insurance telling him the damage to the Lexus came to $1,800. He'd have to pay the price.

When I told you about him, many of you responded with offers of help for a young man who supported himself through university, works two jobs and has $18,000 in student debt.

At last count, Free Press readers had donated $1,615. When Ibarra and I had coffee Friday, he got teary.

"This is crazy," he said. "I wasn't expecting anything." Ibarra hadn't contacted me with his sad story. The mother of a friend did. He wasn't asking for anything.

"I just want to thank everybody. All these people I don't know... is empathy the right word?"

Yes. Yes, it is.

I contacted the Lexus owner before the column ran, partially because he'd been so kind to Ibarra. He didn't get back to me that day. Here's part of what he had to say when we did connect:

"For the record, the tail light was not the only damaged part, there were dents and deep scratches in the rear quarter panel, dents on the trunk lid, and bumper was pushed up and in. The total claim was estimated at $4,000," he wrote.

"The tail light only cost $500 to replace. The back rear quarter and bumper required bodywork and refinishing, as well as the bumper brace needed to be replaced. I was out my vehicle for a week while it was repaired in which I had to rent a vehicle at my own cost."

He was frustrated and felt he was being painted as a villain because he didn't somehow make this right for Ibarra. While he was sympathetic, his car was damaged and there was no way he should be on the hook for the repairs.

He said he worked hard to buy his car and shouldn't be judged because it was a luxury vehicle.

As to why there's a discrepancy between what Ibarra is being asked to pay and what the car owner says was the total cost of repairs, I can't answer that. MPI can't comment on specific cases.

As we sat in Stella's on Friday, Ibarra questioned whether this sort of public outpouring of help for a stranger would happen in his native Mexico. He hoped it would, although he sounded doubtful.

He hadn't told his parents about his dilemma.

"Why worry them?" he said. He'll tell them now so they get a better idea of the people in his adopted city.

I asked him what he'd do if more than $1,800 was donated. After all, he still has $18,000 in student loans.

"If I do happen to go past that amount, it's not my money. I would give it away to an organization in Winnipeg. Maybe to the Bike To The Future organization."

But wouldn't the extra money help him out, I asked.

"My school's going to be paid by me," he said. "That's my situation. That's not why people helped. I couldn't keep that money."

The cynics among you will wonder if this guy is as good as he seems. The emphatic think we should have more honest citizens like Sebastian Ibarra.

Me? I'm back where I started. Honesty does pay.

lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca

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Bike to the Future's comment:

On September 30th, Sebastian contacted us about his predicament.

Within a few days, BttF's Safety & Education Committee Director and BttF's volunteer lawyer replied with empathy, info, and advice, although both replies were of a "sorry we can't help you more" tone.

It's great to learn that things have worked out OK for Sebastian.