More victims come forward after cars damaged by fire hose
By Kara Peters
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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — In 12 Investigates, more people are coming forward after their cars were damaged by a Winston-Salem fire hose on May 29.
Charlene Johnson and Darla Nolan both hit a 1,000-foot-long fire hose left unattended in the roadway. Two complete strangers, now linked by a single, startling moment on Highway 52.
“It was like I was going through Medusa’s hair with snakes going all around me like this,” Johnson said. “It was a bouncing type of effect, and I can see green and silver. Then, I hear a knock, like a hit underneath my car.”
“It felt to me like I was in an off-balanced washing machine,” Nolan said. “That loud banging and banging and jolting.”
The impact forced both women to pull over. And for Darla, things quickly turned serious.
“I got really nervous because I have a spacer in my neck from breaking my neck before, and I didn’t know what was going on,” Nolan said.
Nolan says she was taken to the hospital for evaluation, spent 6 hours in the ER, and is now left with that hospital bill and about $7,000 worth of car repairs.
As for Johnson, she says the collision cost her around $1,600. And when it comes to their claims, both women were denied by the city.
12 Investigates got a legal perspective from David Daggett, an attorney with Daggett Shuler Attorneys at Law.
He says when it comes to these victims building a case, there’s a few factors to consider; including municipal and governmental immunity, and contributory negligence.
“Contributory negligence means if you do anything to cause your own damage, meaning if the other side is 99% at fault, and you’re 1% at fault, you’re barred at having any claim whatsoever,” Daggett said.
On top of that, the cost to build a case could be a hassle.
“You then get to, is this economically feasible to build a case for that fight. because you can’t spend more money pursuing the case than the damage to their vehicle.” Daggett said.
According to the incident report filed, “the cargo net for unit 1 failed, causing it to unload an impressive 1000 feet of fire hose.”
12 investigates reached back out to the fire department to see if all necessary protocols were followed on May 29. The statement reads in part:
“The Winston-Salem Fire Department conducted an internal review and found that WSFD personnel followed proper procedures and safety protocols. There is no indication of negligence on the part of our staff.
Both Johnson and Nolan, still weeks later, are dealing with what happened on that May morning.
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