YONKERS (WABC) — The snow has melted, but a woman from Yonkers says she’s still paying the price of January’s snowstorm that dumped nearly a foot of snow in the area.
The woman says her car was totaled after a city fire truck crashed into it.
Now she doesn’t have a car or a way to pay for the damage because the fire department says it is not paying.
Cellphone video shows the moment the Yonkers fire truck starts to lose control as the front tire slips in the snow.
A firefighter in the passenger’s seat is seen waving frantically and yelling for people to get out of the way.
The aftermath was a smashed Honda Accord, belonging to Amaireinis Merced.
“I was shocked when I went outside because normally when the fire department is coming down, you can hear the sirens and whatnot. I didn’t hear anything. I just ran out after I got the call and then I saw what happened,” Merced said.
It happened on a steep stretch of Park Avenue on January 17.
Video shows the fire truck mounting the sidewalk to avoid a black car that got stuck coming uphill.
Merced’s car was parked behind that vehicle.
It’s been declared a total loss, but Merced said the city told her it is not liable.
“The lawyer called yesterday basically saying that the city is goig to claim immunity and I’m basically going to have to pay out of pocket,” Merced said.
This winter’s snowstorms were especially challenging in Yonkers as crews struggled to clear snow in the city hills that has over 450 dead-end streets.
Merced had to pay for Uber to and from work.
She still owes $7,000 on the loan and did not have comprehensive insurance coverage.
“This was not my fault. I was home. We were advised to stay home that day, which I did exactly that so that we can avoid having an accident. And then the accident just suddenly appears on my doorstep,” Merced said.
Yonkers Corporation Council says it cannot comment given the pending notice of claim and “potential litigation.”
That is an avenue that Merced said she will now have to explore, suing the city if they can’t come to an agreement over the damages.
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