Berkeley County woman wants landscape company to pay for repairs after damaging her car
HUGER, S.C. (WCBD) — A Berkeley County woman is sharing her frustrations after she said a landscaping company caused damage to her car and the issue still has not been resolved months later.
Jeanette Lawrence said she was driving down Cainhoy Road in June when the incident happened. She said crews were mowing the grass on the side of the road as she was driving by,
"As we passed by it shot out rocks — 'boom, boom, boom!' I mean it scared us so bad I kinda turned around and looked at my sister and she looked at me and we pulled aside — we pulled off of the road," she recounted.
Lawrence said she got out of the car and noticed the damage. Then, she spoke to an employee with the landscaping company.
"I said my car has two dings in it with paint chipping out of it and he needs to pay for that," she explained. "And he said fine. I didn't hear anything so I looked up the company — it's out of Florence, South Carolina."
Cainhoy Road is a state-maintained road, and the company, Langston Brush & Mowing is contracted to do work including mowing by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).
Lawrence said the owner of Langston Brush & Mowing eventually contacted her and asked her to go to a car shop in Mount Pleasant to get a quote for the repairs. The estimate totaled $1,592.25. She said the quote was then sent back to the owner and she didn't receive a response until he asked her to go to a different car shop.
"He's tried to send me to a place out in Bonneau, and I explained to him Bonneau is too far away," she said.
Instead, Lawrence went to another car shop closer to home and got a second quote totaling $1,540.20.
"This is a back and forth since the first week of June," she said.
News 2 reached out to the owner of the landscape company. When we asked for an update about the situation, he said he could find out. Lawrence said the owner then contacted her requesting that she go to another car shop and that he believed the work could be done for much less. The next day, the owner said he did not have a comment.
News 2 also contacted SCDOT and received a statement. "SCDOT is dedicated to quickly and fairly resolving claims for damages that occur on state-maintained roads due to a road defect or other condition pursuant to the SC Tort Claims Act."
A spokesperson went on to say, "Whether the contractor or SCDOT handles the claim depends on the circumstances and our customer service representatives are available to help answer questions and resolve these matters."
Lawrence said SCDOT told her the landscape company is responsible for paying for the damages. She said her insurance company did too. Now, she said she is hoping the owner follows through with paying for the damages.
"I think he needs to step up the plate as the owner of a business and do the right thing," she said.
After News 2 reached out to the owner of the landscape company, Lawrence said she agreed to go to a third car shop for a new quote. SCDOT encourages anyone who encounters an issue on a state-maintained road to contact them at (855)-467-2368 or submit a claim online .
