Mother struggles after inflatable display damages car during windstorm

A Las Vegas mother of four says she’s struggling to afford a $500 insurance deductible after a large inflatable display from a southwest valley smog shop allegedly slammed into her car during strong winds. (Marion Wagner/KTNV via CNN Newsource)

SOUTHWEST LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A Las Vegas mother of four says she’s struggling to afford a US$500 insurance deductible after a large inflatable display from a southwest valley smog shop allegedly slammed into her car during strong winds.

Marion Wagner says her 2017 Nissan Maxima was parked outside Smog Busters when the incident happened.

“All of the glass on top of my car was completely smashed,” Wagner said.

According to Wagner, the business’s inflatable display was picked up by the wind and crashed into her vehicle, shattering the windshield and sunroof.

“The wind picked up the inflatable guy and basically beat on my car,” Wagner said. “The front windshield was smashed in, the sunroof was completely smashed in.”

Wagner says the vehicle was unoccupied at the time. When she returned, she found shattered glass across the front windshield and roof of the car.

She says the situation has become a financial burden as she waits for the insurance process to play out.

“I do have insurance, but I don’t have an extra $500,” Wagner said. “The price of gas, the price of groceries… everybody is struggling.”

Wagner says the latest repair estimate is now around $7,700 after a body shop discovered additional damage around the sunroof frame.

“I’m not asking them to pay the total claim,” Wagner said. “I’m just asking them to cover my deductible.”

Channel 13 also spoke with Smog Busters manager James Leithner, who says the company is willing to work through the situation, but any payments or claims must go through insurance procedures first.

“We were actively trying to work through things,” Leithner said. “We have protocols in place and we have to involve our own insurance.”

Leithner also questioned some details surrounding how the damage occurred, while saying the company has never experienced an issue like this before.

“It was a pretty impressive physical event that took place that would be extraordinarily unusual,” Leithner said. “But that’s not for me to decide. That would be for the insurance companies to figure out.”

“We use this same inflatable every day at multiple locations and never had an issue like this,” he added.

A local attorney also told Channel 13 there is nothing legally preventing the company from paying Wagner’s deductible if they choose to, even while the insurance claim is under review.

For Wagner, she says finding an extra $500 right now feels impossible.

“I’m on a fixed income. There’s mortgage, groceries, gas… in today’s economy we’re all penny-pinching,” Wagner said. “There’s no extra five dollars, much less $500.”

Smog Busters management says they are continuing to work through the situation with Wagner, but maintain that any damages or payments must go through the company’s insurance process.