JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Holly Gould was fighting rush hour traffic with a car full of groceries when she saw the car in front of her slam on the brakes.
The next thing she knew, rocks were raining down on her through her open sunroof. Some of those rocks were the size of golf balls, but she said some were as large as bricks.
Gould was driving on Indiana Street approaching W. 86th Parkway, located near a railroad bridge. She didn't realize it at the time, but workers were doing maintenance on the bridge while cars were driving under it.
"I was in a complete state of shock. I had pulled over, I got out and it looked like hail had just destroyed the car," Gould said.
Gould is suing Union Pacific Railroad Company claiming workers failed to take the proper steps to secure the rocks on the bridge and warn drivers about the potential for falling rocks.
A spokesperson for Union Pacific Railroad Company provided the following statement:
"Union Pacific looks forward to presenting both sides of this dispute to the court of law, and does not otherwise comment on active litigation."
Gould said on the day of the accident in July 2017, there were no signs warning her that work was taking place above and the road was still open.
"They haven’t done anything to change their policy. That’s unacceptable. We need to make sure that when people are driving this is not going to happen to them," said Michael Berg, her attorney.
Berg said he found out about similar incidents involving Union Pacific Railroad Company during discovery. Currently, the case appears to be heading to trial.
"We know in the 12 months following this, 19 times they dropped rocks on cars and vehicles and on people," Berg said. "This is dangerous. They just don’t care.”
Gould suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures in her back. She still has lasting vision problems.
"It was the scariest thing I’ve ever gone through," Gould said. "Even since then, I have a hard time driving."
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