NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News woman's 2015 BMW is buried under a tree after Sunday night storms brought strong winds and lightning to the Peninsula, and she says her insurance company won't replace the car.
Betty Davis was getting a drink inside her home on Snidow Boulevard when she heard cracking noises outside.
"We heard something that sounded like something running off the road or made a big poppin and by the time we had opened the door the lighting had already hit the tree behind me and then it split it and then it fell onto the car that's in the driveway," Betty said.
The entire car is covered by the tree, with a limb going through the back window.
"I said oh my God, where's my car?! Cause you can't see it, you can't see it it's up under the tree," Betty said.
"You can see with all the glass on the ground that that back window is out and the tree is though the back of the window," Betty said.
The storm also knocked out power for thousands of Dominion Energy customers across the area. More than 1,600 Dominion customers in Newport News and Hampton were without power as of 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Cherise Newsom with Dominion Energy said crews are working to restore power as soon as possible.
"We have one project in Newport News that has about eight down poles and when you have that many down power poles it could take 4 to 8 hours to reset those poles," Newsom said.
Video from Coastal Fermentory in Newport News captured the strength of the winds, showing a tent being blown away from the brewery.
While Betty did not lose power, she is now navigating the insurance process and says the company has indicated it will not replace her car — something she calls the biggest hurdle moving forward.
"They should be the top priority to tell us what we need not just assume that we know what we need i got all those papers in the house, I don't know what they say but it don't say that i can get a car now that the tree is on top of my car," Betty said.
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