NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An East Nashville homeowner is out thousands of dollars after a garbage truck ripped electrical equipment off the side of her house.
On trash day, it appears the top of the garbage truck hit wires that cross her street in the Inglewood neighborhood.
The incident has resulted in roughly $10,000 in damages at Bethany Bauman's house.
"I absolutely wish they had left a note," said Bethany Bauman, the homeowner.
If not for her neighbors, Bauman said she would be in the dark about the damages. Fortunately, a doorbell camera caught the tail-end of the incident. It captured a flash as the garbage truck drove away after yanking down the power lines.
"I'm very fortunate there weren't children walking past, that no one was hurt, that a fire didn't start in my home," Bauman said.
Bauman suffered damages to her exterior electrical box as well as roof fascia. She lost power and also had to throw out all her food in the fridge.
It wasn't until Thursday after the interview with NewsChannel 5 that Bauman talked face-to-face with the city-contracted trash company. She had wanted to hear from the city and company days ago.
"If you damage something, take ownership of it. Don't run away. That part feels really icky to me," she said.
Metro Water Services says the driver of the Platform Waste Solutions truck did report the incident to them. Platform Waste Solutions is the company that took over for Red River Waste Solutions after years of issues in Nashville.
The city also said electrical wires are supposed to be high enough for trash trucks and fire trucks to get through, and in this case, were not.
"I mean when all is said and done, a couple of days without power is a small thing. I think I would feel differently if I had different neighbors and different relationships with the people around me that have really rallied, and I can't thank them enough," she said.
Bauman said her insurance company is going to reimburse her expenses.
