A man from Jackson Township told us he was just trying to do his job but now his car is damaged.
He said it all happened at an apartment complex. At one point, we were confronted by property management about the man's claims.
"My front bumper contacted the parking lot right here," said Denny Coates. He delivered pizzas but told us an entrance way to a building at Lake Cable Village Apartments delivered a damaging blow. "The left side is hung off and I can snap it on,” said Coates as he pounded on his bumper.
Coates said it was a dark night in February. He didn't see how steep the entry was and his 2015 car slammed into the incline causing nearly $1,000 in damages. "I'm sick about it.”
After NewsChannel 5 started making phone calls about this, the problem entry is now repaired. But, prior to it being re-done, Coates took plenty of pictures of the problem. He said he went straight to management of the property, but the negative response he got was disheartening. "I was literally hung up on by Becky saying ‘I was going to end this conversation now.’"
We called management only to be told that Coates had to contact his insurance and then if there were problems, insurance companies and/or attorneys could fight it out.
Managers tried to pick a fight with us today.
"Hi. We're going to have to ask you to leave,” said one of the managers as we were standing on a public road. When we told her we had the right to be there she said, “Well, let's call the police." She walked away calling someone then went straight to her car. We asked if she wanted to answer any questions. “No, actually, we have no comment. Thanks for coming," she said.
We did talk with Ralph Boger who is the public service director for Jackson Township. He explained that the township warned management to fix the entrance last summer. However, it didn't get fixed until now.
It’s too late for Coates who just wants the complex to fix his bumper. "I think that is the right and justified thing to do," said Coates.
