MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. — A man is looking for answers after a chunk of ice fell from an overpass, causing damage to his car. This happened Wednesday on I-94 Westbound near the Zoo Interchange.
"I scared. Actually, I scared because it come from the ice, I can't do anything," Ozgur Cebe said.
Cebe was driving home Wednesday when the unexpected happened. A terrifying moment that was caught on his car's dash camera.
A huge chunk of ice fell from the overpass on I-94W near the Mayfair exit.
Cebe sent us these pictures of the damage.
"I stopped at a Kwik Trip and realized the damage was bad," Cebe said. "I reached out to you because it's potential danger for everyone. Not just for me or my car, it's potential danger for everyone."
Cebe said that after he gets an estimate for the damage, he wants the state or Milwaukee County to pick up the tab.
"Yes, they should be responsible for my car because this is not my fault. They need to clean the bridge," Cebe explained.
We tried calling Milwaukee County, which likely treats the interstates during weather events. We were sent to voicemail and never received a call back.
A Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WISDOT) spokesperson sent us this statement:
"The State is not liable for vehicle damage on Wisconsin highways unless a named State employee must have acted negligently during the course of their work. In addition, the State cannot control weather conditions and snow or ice falling from infrastructure. Insurance companies may cover the damage under comprehensive loss (falling object)."
"It's terrible. You think about it could happen to anybody. It could've been a lot worse than that," Jeff Zirgibel said.
Zirgibel's a personal injury attorney with Pasternak and Zirgibel. He said WISDOT is right.
"There's a state statute that protects them, gives them immunity for discretionary acts, and protects them from injuries caused due to snow and ice accumulation and plowings," Zirgibel explained.
Zirgibel said given the state statute, it's best for folks in this situation to file a claim with their own insurance.
"The best thing you can do is have good insurance, you know, so that worse case you're just out your deductible for these freak things that happen," Zirgibel added.
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