An Alberta man is asking the province to take some responsibility after strong winds blasted gravel at his new SUV, causing $17,000 in damage.
Kosta Keramaris says he was driving his recently-purchased BMW along Edmonton's Anthony Henday Drive, also known as provincial Highway 216, when a windstorm began whipping up sand and rock from the ground this past weekend.
The debris pelted his new vehicle with such strength that Keramaris said it was difficult to hear his son speaking over the noise of gravel hitting the vehicle's exterior.
It was loud," he told CTV Edmonton. "It basically drowned out my son's voice and our talking."
When the wind died down and he had a chance to assess the situation, Keramaris found the exterior of his vehicle badly damaged.
"It's not even chips on the finish. It's chips on the paint itself," he said, running a hand along the front of the car and ducking down to inspect the wheels. "The rocks are that strong that it can chip away the paint on your (wheel) rims, right? That's a pretty good blast of wind."
The car owner contacted a body shop and they responded with a hefty quote: $17,192.63.
Now, he's hoping the province will take some sort of responsibility for the repairs.
Keramaris says he believes the gravel that chipped at his new car should never have been on the road in the first place.
"We haven't had any snow. Whatever snow was on the ground has been melted away. Whatever you can see on the roads now is just basically mountains of rock," he said. "It's their (the province's) responsibility to clean it."
Keramaris said the Transportation Department told him he can file a claim for the province to evaluate.
And in the meantime, the sand on the road is not going anywhere soon.
The department said spring clean-up only happens when crews can be sure the province isn't in for more snow, and that time might not come until April
Edmonton man faces $17,000 in repairs after windstorm blasts car with gravel | CTV News
Kosta Keramaris says he was driving his recently-purchased BMW along Edmonton's Anthony Henday Drive, also known as provincial Highway 216, when a windstorm began whipping up sand and rock from the ground this past weekend.
The debris pelted his new vehicle with such strength that Keramaris said it was difficult to hear his son speaking over the noise of gravel hitting the vehicle's exterior.
It was loud," he told CTV Edmonton. "It basically drowned out my son's voice and our talking."
When the wind died down and he had a chance to assess the situation, Keramaris found the exterior of his vehicle badly damaged.
"It's not even chips on the finish. It's chips on the paint itself," he said, running a hand along the front of the car and ducking down to inspect the wheels. "The rocks are that strong that it can chip away the paint on your (wheel) rims, right? That's a pretty good blast of wind."
The car owner contacted a body shop and they responded with a hefty quote: $17,192.63.
Now, he's hoping the province will take some sort of responsibility for the repairs.
Keramaris says he believes the gravel that chipped at his new car should never have been on the road in the first place.
"We haven't had any snow. Whatever snow was on the ground has been melted away. Whatever you can see on the roads now is just basically mountains of rock," he said. "It's their (the province's) responsibility to clean it."
Keramaris said the Transportation Department told him he can file a claim for the province to evaluate.
And in the meantime, the sand on the road is not going anywhere soon.
The department said spring clean-up only happens when crews can be sure the province isn't in for more snow, and that time might not come until April
Edmonton man faces $17,000 in repairs after windstorm blasts car with gravel | CTV News
