In all her years receiving damage claims against the city of St. Paul — ranging from wheels bent by potholes to car doors dented by snowplows — City Clerk Shari Moore has never seen anything like this: a city employee, driving a city-rented van on city time, turned a corner and smashed into a parked car — her own.

Now, the employee wants the city to pay for the damages.

On August 4, Parks and Recreation employee Megan Campbell was driving supplies back to her West Side office in a rented van when she made a right turn "and ran into a parked car, which also happened to be mine," she wrote in her report. "Because I was working for the city and driving the city vehicle, I feel they are responsible for paying for the damage done to my car."

Campbell attached two repair estimates for her 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, with costs ranging from more than $1,600 to nearly $1,900. She also wrote that the right side of the van was scraped and a tire was "popped."

Campbell did not return a phone call Thursday seeking comment about the accident or her claim.

Moore, whose office only receives claims, said all claims are forwarded to the city's Risk Management office to determine whether to pay. That will be done in this case, she said.

First, however, it appears more investigative work is coming.

Brad Meyer, a spokesman for the city's parks department, wrote in an email that "it seems the city's required accident reporting and incident paperwork protocols weren't properly followed for this accident."

While Campbell's claim states there was slight damage to the van she was driving, the company from which the city rents the van did not see any damage when it was returned and no damage was reported. In addition, while the accident occurred in early August, the city was not given any paperwork until Sept. 25.

Still to be decided is whether those improprieties were caused by Campbell or her supervisor, Meyer said.

"Now that we are aware that she was involved in an accident that caused damage, we'll initiate the steps to investigate the accident, which will include witness comments (if present), with the outcomes determining next steps," Meyer wrote in the email. "In addition to investigating the accident, we'll also investigate why paperwork and proper accident reporting protocols weren't followed. The City's Risk Management Office will review the claim and gather and thoroughly review all the evidence prior to agreeing to make any claim payments."

Meyer added that, in general, the city always gives employees the benefit of the doubt.

"And Megan will receive the same, but since this situation is unusual, the investigation will most likely receive additional scrutiny," he said.

James Walsh • 651-925-5041