Should i need to pay if my car hit a gate community?

Couple days ago, i went out of my apartment and the gate was opened and i thought is opened enough so i can come out, when i tried to come out the gate closed and hit my car in the passenger front, i don't see any damage in the gate so i left. The apartment manager called me and he told me i'm responsible for pay for the gate repair because he said my car hit the gate and broke the gate completely. My car is a ford focus, small car and i was not speed so how possible i can broke the whole gate? Many times that gate is not working and i believe they want make to pay for a new gate, that is very unfair. He showed me the video where i can saw that i hit the gate but still i don't believe that little hit can broke the gate completely. I believe the gate sensors was not working properly. How i can prove that the gate sensors was not working and that is the reason the gate was closed when i try to come out? Should i need to pay for the gate repairs? Can my car insurance cover that? My car insurance will be increase after this accident? I'm a single mom and is hard for me for pay for everything so i'm feel desperate now. My deductible is around 1,000 and i don't have that money. What should i do? They can evict me from my apartment for this reason?

Actually, if the gate closed and hit your car while you were driving through it it's THEIR fault, NOT yours. The only thing you did wrong here was to not report it immediately to the manager and file for damages to your car. If their video shows the gate closing while you were going through it, then that's the ultimate proof.

If management continues to give you a hard time, I suggest you call a lawyer.

File a claim with your insurance company. There's NO deductible for liability claims (at fault). The $1,000 applies to (your) vehicle for any repairs.

Your insurance will inspect and write an estimate of the cost to fix/repair and/or replace the gate. If the sensors not working or defective, they will know after inspecting it, and if so, then they can deny payment.

Either way, you need an expert to make the decision to pay or not, since that is why you pay for insurance.