1968 Impala with Idaho plates crashed and abandoned in London…Wait, what?

Image courtesy of the London Metropolitan Police

Impounding a crashed car found in the middle of February, the London Metropolitan Police discovered a bit of a surprise. Not only was the car a highly unusual sight on London’s streets – a 1968 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, but it sported Idaho license plates in lieu of the expected U.K. tags.

The Sutton Metropolitan Police Service tweeted discovery of the classic Chevy on March 7, but initially discovered the car on February 17. They followed that up with another tweet with photos. We’ll forgive them for misidentifying it as a ’69. After all, we can’t imagine it’s something they see everyday.

In BBC coverage of the story, Sutton PC (police constable, a.k.a. officer to you and I on this side of the Atlantic) Jamie Stone was quoted as saying, “Unless we find the owner, this classic American muscle car faces being turned into soup cans, which breaks my heart a little.” We’d hate to see Jamie’s heart broken.

Police believe the car may have been stolen and taken for a joyride, which looks to have ended when the car lost out to a wrestling match with a telephone pole. The police speculated that the car may have been in long-term storage with an absentee owner since no one had reported it stolen.

A possible owner ultimately stepped up in recent days. The Idaho Statesman reported on Tuesday that Carol Cameron, of Nampa, Idaho, has been located as the owner.

Boise television station KTVB also posted pictures the woman shared of the car before it was painted white. However, at least one commenter on the station’s Facebook page notes that the car was sold to someone in the U.K. and that it was not stolen.

If we hear any more on this story, particularly if we can find more clarification as to how the Impala arrived in the U.K., we will be sure to update this story.