Sept. 25, 2008
John Cutlip
Editorial Assistant
STRUTHERS Fifty-year-old Jim Fetty loves his 1997 Chrysler Sebring. He thinks it has a sporty, but luxurious feel to it and used it to get to his work place, Allied Erecting and Dismantling.
He is not a big fan, however, of the enormous tree branch that landed on it, completely destroying his sun roof, windshield and canopy while damaging other parts of the car.
On Sunday, Sept. 14, Fetty had just returned to his Poland Avenue home after a weeklong vacation, parked in his steep, gravel driveway and went in to his house to avoid the remnants of hurricane Ike.
About an hour later, he heard a loud crash and feared the worst.
I was broken-hearted, Fetty said. I really love that car.
The deciduous offender looked to be taller than his house and probably older. The branch that separated, due to the more than 50 mph winds that accompanied the storm, was close to the top of the tree, causing a high velocity impact when it fell. It didnt help that the lengthy log was huge large enough to span half the length of his full-size sedan and potentially deadly.
Had he not made the decision to move the motorcycle and red pickup truck also parked in his driveway, they would have suffered the same fate. Twenty minutes after the first branch smashed his Sebring, another came crashing down. If he was an hour later coming home, it might have been on his head.
Like a good neighbor
Fetty has been living on Poland Avenue for 10 years and has gotten to know his landlord, Ron Bilas, pretty well.
Bilas, a Struthers native who now lives in Ellsworth, found out about the car when he contacted Fetty to check on his parents, John and Olga, who live a block away. The phone lines were knocked out by the storm so he called Fettys cell phone.
First, I called my insurace company, but they said they didnt cover acts of God, Bilas, a 1967 Struthers High School graduate, said. Jim wasnt covered under his insurance either.
The next day, Bilas began dismantling the tree and cleaning up the driveway, but he wasnt without help for long.
All these neighbors showed up, all came over to help. There were kids with a wagon, a lady sweeping ... we cleaned up the whole yard within an hour, he said.
Touched by what he experienced, Bilas decided to talk to his friend, Ron Haus of Ron Haus Auto Group in Canfield. He was able to get his unfortunate tenant a reliable car for about $1,500 dollars, leaving Fetty without a ride for less than a week.
He called me ... and he told me ... he had some cars out there to look at, Fetty said, gesturing toward the 1999 Pontiac Grand Am now parked in his drive. So, I looked at a few of the cars and I picked this one here out.
Haus even threw in new brakes and made sure the car was working nicely all at no extra charge.
Not junk yet
Jack Linzey, a longtime friend of Fettys and car expert, took the crushed Chrysler to his house on Charles Street so the two can try to put it back together.
At our pace, probably ... [it would take] six months [to fix it] I would think, Linzey, who can also operate welding equipment, said. The process will involve Bondo, pop riveting and grinding, among hours of labor.
Its a cool car, Fetty said while examining the destruction. He chuckled. Its got all the nice luxuries in it.
They planned on getting replacement parts at least a windshield, hood and roof, from local junkyards but joked that they are accepting donations.
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