A New York woman went viral on TikTok after publicly defending her friend, who she said was recently involved in a hit-and-run with an Audi driver.
Kaitlyn Chen (@chenkaitlyn), who’s been documenting her “realty journey” in New York and Long Island, shared footage of what appeared to be her friend just moments after a car accident. The clip quickly took off online.
The incident happened at 12:43pm ET on May 30 on the Belt Parkway before Exit 7, on the Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. In the short video, Chen’s friend begins recording right after being hit. Instead of pulling over to exchange info, the other driver appears to flee the scene.
“This dude just hit my car,” she said in the video. “He’s trying to run away.”
Dashcam footage shows the car—a dark green Audi RS5 with no license plates and tinted front windows—driving off. Chen said her friend was never able to identify the driver, but she’s now crowdsourcing help.
“Help my homegirl identify this car,” she wrote in the caption. “Lots of good karma coming your way.” Chen even offered a reward: A discount on buying or selling a home through her services.
But as of Thursday, no leads. The culprit is still unknown. Meanwhile, Chen’s video has racked up more than 9.8 million views.
Hit-and-Run Drivers Can Be Hard to Find
Tracking down a hit-and-run driver isn’t easy, especially when the car has no front or back plates and the dashcam footage doesn’t clearly show the driver’s face, like in the case of Chen’s friend.
Still, there are ways to strengthen your case beyond just asking TikTok for help.
According to Houston-based law firm Gibson Hill Personal Injury, the first step is always to file a police report. From there, gather any available witness statements and surveillance footage, if applicable. Chen’s friend was on the highway, so that wasn't an option—but those steps can still be crucial in other situations.
The firm also recommends checking the scene for car debris, which could help identify the vehicle. And if you have the resources, hiring a personal injury attorney could make a real difference, as they can investigate on your behalf and help push an insurance claim forward.
Even if the driver can’t be identified, insurance companies will often cover injuries and damages under uninsured motorist policies. And in rare cases, someone might come forward—an eyewitness who recognizes the car or even the driver.
So, it looks like Chen’s friend did everything right. But given how notoriously tough these cases are to crack, it’s still unclear if even a viral TikTok will be enough to track down the culprit.
Viewers Think It's a Lost Cause
Most commenters on Chen’s video pointed out the obvious: The driver had clearly gotten away, and the chances of tracking them down seemed slim.
“He didn’t try running away, he got away,” one viewer said.
“No plate, too? Y’all not finding bro,” another wrote.
“Yeah, you’ll never get them,” a third commenter added.
Others flagged a bigger issue: The car appeared to be wrapped—a vinyl film covering the original paint. That might look sleek, but it also makes the car harder to identify, complicating any efforts to track it down.
“I would unwrap it as soon as I got home,” one TikToker quipped.
A second viewer echoed this sentiment, writing, “Car is going back to the wrap shop tomorrow!”
“A wrapped RS5 in New York [with] no plates,” a third viewer noted. “You 100-percent might as well just take the car to a shop because you aren’t finding him and insurance is just gonna raise ya rates, so just take the loss and pay out of pocket.”
@chenkaitlyn help my homegirl identify this car!!!! lots of good karma coming your way + i'll help you buy/sell a home at a reduced fee for your kindness 🥹🥹🥹 #hitandrun #nyc #beltparkway #brooklyn #audirs3 #audirs5 #fyp ♬ original sound - Kaitlyn Chen 🎀 REALTOR
On Tuesday, Chen replied to a commenter to say that the person TikTok sleuths had flagged wasn’t the culprit. But she hasn’t posted a broader update on whether her friend has found the driver.
Motor1 has reached out to Chen via a TikTok comment.
