APOPKA, Fla. – A month after a high-speed Florida Highway Patrol chase ended with a car crashing through a brick wall in an Apopka neighborhood, the homeowner who lives next to the damage says she’s been trying ever since to get it fixed.
FHP reports show troopers chased a driver through Central Florida at speeds reaching 130 miles per hour before using a PIT maneuver near Apopka Boulevard and Lake Pleasant Road on April 17.
According to the arrest report, the maneuver caused the vehicle to crash into a brick wall in the Chelsea Park neighborhood.
The driver, identified as 25-year-old Deon Justice, faces charges including aggravated fleeing with injury or damage, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, and resisting an officer without violence.
Pat Oates lives next to the damaged wall and says the hole has been a constant frustration ever since the crash.
Oates says the wall belongs to the homeowners association and is managed by Trident Management. She says she spent weeks trying to get answers about when repairs would begin.
“You call the phone number and it says to leave a message that they’ll return the phone call. They’ve yet to return one phone call,” Oates said.
She also says the damage changed how she uses her own backyard.
“I’m trying to get my wall back in place so that my dog can have her yard back,” she said.
After News 6 contacted Trident Management on Thursday, the company responded saying repairs are now scheduled for Monday.
In a statement, Trident Management said the matter had already been resolved with Geico and disputed claims that they failed to respond to Oates.
The company said it has “proof that the insurance company has issued the check and the work has been scheduled with our chosen vendor.”
Oates says she’s hopeful the repairs finally happen but still has doubts.