Woman said TDOT road workers shattered her windshield
The Chapel Hill woman said she was driving to work when TDOT’s equipment sent a tree limb flying toward her car.
CHAPEL HILL, Tenn. (WSMV) - A woman said her windshield was shattered in a Tennessee Department of Transportation work zone.
Katherine Bersceny said one moment she’s driving past TDOT workers, and the next a chunk of a tree branch came flying at her.
“It happened so fast. It felt like what was the speed of a bullet coming toward my car,” Bersceny said.
It was a terrifying moment Bersceny said happened on her drive into work.
“There was a TDOT crew, and they had one lane blocked off. They were bush hogging,” Bersceny said.
It’s a piece of equipment used by TDOT to trim overgrown trees and bushes along the road.
“I’ve driven past plenty of people bush hogging,” Bersceny said.
But Tuesday morning that machine sent her swerving off the road.
“Just like a giant crack, like a big pop,” Bersceny explained. “A branch ricocheted off of the equipment and hit my windshield, and almost came through my windshield.”
She said a TDOT worker helped her call the Tennessee Highway Patrol to file a report and file a claim with the Department of Transportation.”
“It cracked all the way across,” she said. “I was also on the phone with TDOT, and they said that we had to file a claim through our insurance and pay a hefty deductible to get it fixed because TDOT is a government agency. It does take months before it can be resolved, and we can’t go months without a windshield.”
WSMV4 contacted TDOT and a spokesperson echoed that same statement.
Bersceny said this should have never happened. Cars should not be that close to a machine capable of this type of damage.
“I’m hoping they fix the situation before someone gets injured or killed from it,” Bersceny said.
She said while she waits for her claim, she wants to warn other drivers to be more careful.
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