Bumped a parked car in a parking lot and panicked — now I don't know what to do

I was on the OTHER side of this exact thing once — came out of a grocery store to find my bumper smashed and zero note. I filed a police report immediately and the lot cameras caught the plate within 48 hours. So yeah, those cameras are real and they do get checked. I'm not saying this to scare you, just... the 'blow over' scenario is less likely than you think.

Tell your uncle tonight. Not tomorrow, tonight. The longer he finds out from someone else — a police call, an insurance notice, whatever — the worse it is for your relationship AND your situation. Rip the bandaid. You messed up, but covering it up is a second separate mess-up that's entirely avoidable right now.

Not legal advice, but generally speaking: leaving the scene of a property-damage accident is a separate offense from the underlying collision, and it tends to carry its own penalties. Voluntarily coming forward before law enforcement contacts you is almost universally viewed more favorably than being tracked down. The permit situation adds complexity, but it doesn't change that basic dynamic. Talk to an actual lawyer before you do anything — many will do a free consult.

If the other driver files a claim and investigators start pulling footage, the insurance company is going to find out everything — the permit, the lack of a supervising driver, all of it. At that point you have zero control over the narrative. At least if you get ahead of it, you're the one framing the story.

Hey, I just want to say — the fact that you feel this awful about it actually says a lot about your character. You made a scared decision in a stressful moment, it doesn't make you a bad person. But please talk to your uncle. Carrying this alone is going to eat you alive.

I used to work claims and honestly parking lot cameras get pulled more often than people realize, especially when a repair estimate comes in above a certain threshold. The other driver's shop takes photos, the insurer opens an investigation, someone requests footage — it's pretty routine. Your window to be proactive is right now, and it closes fast.

A couple of things worth knowing: most states have a statutory duty to stop and exchange information after any collision involving property damage, even in a parking lot. Violating that is usually a misdemeanor on its own, separate from any traffic infraction. The permit issue is a different layer. None of this is meant to freak you out — it's just useful context for understanding why getting ahead of it matters. A free consult with a local attorney would give you a much clearer picture of what you're actually facing.

For real though — if the damage is limited to a cracked light and a scrape, this is fixable. People deal with parking lot claims all the time. It feels catastrophic right now but it's genuinely not the end of the world. Come clean, let the insurance sort the repair, and this becomes a story you tell later about the time you learned a hard lesson.