GREENSBORO, NC:: The rain was starting to come down fairly hard and the wind was picking up. Christopher Smith and his wife Patience were inside their apartment as Tropical Storm Florence was rolling through, “We were just hanging out inside upstairs,” said Christopher Smith.
The storm was certainly not as bad as many had feared for those living in the Triad area but what would happen next has become a nightmare for the Smith’s, “We heard a big boom,” said Smith.
That boom was a giant tree in the green belt behind their apartment. The 70 to 80-foot timber fell across the front windshield of the Smith’s car, “I looked outside, and I was like baby I got some bad news a tree fell on the car,” said Smith.
The heavy tree shattered the windshield and bent parts of the frame. The tree so heavy Christopher couldn’t move the car even though it was still able to run, “It was a big tree,” said Smith.
The couple called their insurance agent and was told unfortunately since they only had liability insurance on the older model car the repairs would not be covered. Christopher and Patience then reached out to the owner of the apartment complex to see if they could help, “The basically told me it was an act of God,” said Smith.
In this situation the apartment complex is no more responsible for the tree falling then a hail storm coming through and damaging the vehicle, “An act of nature nobody is liable, we can’t sue Mother Nature and we can’t sue God, so there is nowhere to turn unfortunately,” said Insurance Agent Christopher Cook.
Even though the apartment complex has insurance it would not be responsible in this situation. The only protection would have been comprehensive coverage on the car, “It has messed up a lot for us,” said Patience Davis.
The couple is now having to take the bus, Uber and ask friends for rides, “It’s been difficult, real difficult,” said Davis.
The repair bill is right around $400 to fix the frame and window. Insurance agent Christopher Crook told us adding comprehensive coverage on an older model car like there’s typically runs about $10 to $15 a month.