Woman fights for insurance coverage after pipe falling from underpass smashes her windshield
By Beth Germano
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REVERE, Massachusetts (WBZ) — It’s the day timing was everything for Gina Ugi, her windshield suddenly shattering as a massive pipe came crashing down as she drove through the Sargent Street underpass in Revere.
“I was so startled; it came right down on me,” said Ugi. “It was a 30-foot metal pipe, 8-inch round metal pipe.”
It sent glass flying everywhere, though Ugi was physically unhurt. “I got out, and the first thing I did was empty my shoes of glass. I was covered in glass.”
According to Revere Police, this freak accident was caused by a tractor-trailer seen passing through the underpass just before Ugi, hitting a conduit pipe and then taking off in the moments before her car came upon the scene.
“I was so shocked; it’s like I blacked out for a second in that moment. I remember it was loud obviously.”
Ugi, a mother of two children, says it could have happened to anyone in a split second. “The way it hit and bounced off, I know I hit the brakes and got shifted a little bit.”
Ever since the accident, Ugi has been battling her insurance company for coverage and also trying to regain her confidence in driving under some of the state’s bridges in her daily travels. “I never expected this going under a bridge, and I feel like I literally duck to try to avoid them.”
Her car is still at the shop awaiting repairs and her rental allowance has now run out. The experience has been a nightmare — just for being in the right place at the wrong time.
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