Vehicle In Store Parking Lot Crushed During Tropical Storm Hermine
Light Pole Victim Says Target Denies Damage Claim
Jessie Degollado, KSAT 12 News Reporter
Thursday, September 23, 2010SAN ANTONIO -- Melissa Hettie said she came out of the Target store at Highway 281 and Bitters Road just as Tropical Storm blew through San Antonio on Sept. 7th when she said she saw it out of the corner of her eye: a light pole in the parking lot falling as if in slow motion on top of her vehicle.
"I couldn't even say that's my car," said Hettie. Yet when she filed a damage claim with the Minneapolis-based retailer after her car was declared a total loss, Hettie said it was rejected.
A Target spokeswoman said the company has been speaking with Hettie, but she could not address specific incidents and that claims are handled on a case-by-case basis.
"I actually feel rather hopeless because they were not the easiest company to deal with," Hettie said. Yet she also said she is angry and disappointed in Target where she's been a lifelong, loyal customer.
Hettie said the company that handled her claim told her Tropical Storm Hermine was to blame, not Target. Gusts were clocked at up to 64 miles an hour.
However, Hettie said the parking lot's other light poles were spared and she has photographs of the base of the pole, showing its extensive rust damage. "It was in ill-repair," she said.
Hettie said as a result, she is now without a car, without any recourse and is four months pregnant. She also said she was laid off less than a week after the incident.