AMHERST TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A paint spill that left a giant puddle of yellow road paint on State Route 58 at State Route 113 in Amherst Township damaged at least two vehicles.
On Wednesday evening, Lorna Ingersoll was driving home and unknowingly drove through the paint.
"You couldn't avoid it. It was too soon. It was right there when we turned the corner. There was nowhere to go," Ingersoll said.
The tires, wheel wells, and passenger side of her vehicle have paint splattered on them.
"What did you think of the damage?" News 5’s Damon Maloney asked.
"That this is not what I need right now! And how am I going to get it off? And who's going to pay for it?" Ingersoll said.
Keri Celik’s car was also damaged. She was driving in front of Ingersoll. The two are friends and were leaving work.
"My friend texted me and said, ‘Did you have yellow paint on your car?’" said Keri Celik. "And I said, ‘Funny you asked, because I was just looking at it right now.’"
Both are still working to get repair estimates.
"My car is in very good shape," Celik said. "Except now it has all this yellow paint on it."
How the paint spilled and who’s responsible for it remain mysteries. Neither Ingersoll nor Celik noticed roadwork in the area.
ODOT told News 5 there were no ODOT maintenance nor ODOT contractors working in the area of the spill the day of the incident.
The agency said motorists who experience damage on a state system roadway can file a report online, and ODOT will contact them within two business days for next steps.
Not knowing who spilled the paint does complicate the damage claim process.
Ingersoll and Celik said ODOT has been responsive, but it will likely be several weeks before there’s a resolution and their cars are fixed.
Ingersoll said she knows of others with damaged vehicles.
"There's a Facebook group in the community, and someone had posted asking if anyone else had damage," Ingersoll said. "I've been in contact with those people as well."
The ladies just wish whoever spilled the paint would have done the right thing.
"We all make mistakes," Ingersoll said. "They just kept going."
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