‘I Couldn't Believe It:' Chunk of Ice Smashes Woman's Car, Causing Thousands in Damage

A suburban car owner is facing thousands of dollars in damages to her vehicle after a large chunk of ice smashed through the windshield Monday while it was parked outside of her home.

According to Arielle Modlin, she parked in her assigned space at her Skokie apartment complex on Monday, and just 20 minutes later, she heard a large crash.

“I couldn’t believe it happened,” she said. “My initial though was ‘thank God I wasn’t in the car and that nobody was around.’”

The large crash turned out to be a giant chunk of ice, which had fallen off of the building and slammed into the top of the vehicle. The ice also smashed through the car’s windshield, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Modlin says she had warned building management of the dangerous ice formation a week prior to the incident.

“They responded, (and said) ‘we’re not sure what could be done, and we’ll look into it,’” she said. “It wasn’t followed up on, and there was nothing done, and this was kind of the aftermath of that.”

Auto body shop owner Joe Atou, who is working to repair the vehicle, says that the estimated repair costs are running up to more than $7,000, but that the hit to Modlin’s pocketbook could turn out to be worse.

“We haven’t even torn down the car yet, so once we tear it down, it could get a lot more expensive,” he said.

That’s because of the potential for water damage inside of the vehicle, caused by the massive ice chunk melting once it hit the car.

Building management had no comment on the incident, but Modlin says that she hopes her story helps others to stay safe as ice and snow continue to melt from buildings.

“I had seen photographs of damaged buildings and other vehicles, and I thought that my damage was pretty extreme and worth seeing,” she said. “(I hope it) makes people aware of the falling ice, how dangerous it could be, and I’m honestly just glad this happened to a car and not a person.”