Yessica Rostro and her sister were headed home from school in their brand new Jeep. It's her first car -- she calls it her dream car.
But things weren't so great as she came upon a set of large steel plates lying in the road, which was under construction.
"As we approached the plates a truck came by and it went over them, it bent the plates it concaved, my car just struck the plate and got stuck there," Rostro said.
When they got the car free, the news wasn't good.
"The whole front bottom part was destroyed, it broke the axle, the place where the motor sits broke off, so all of that was on the floor, as it was towed away it scraped the pavement," Rostro said.
The construction manager on site sent an adjuster from their insurance company to check out the vehicle. Yessica wanted to know if the company was going to pay for it.
"I tried to contact them for several weeks, and I would just get her voicemail, I emailed her, I got automatic replies to call in another week and I would call and get the same thing. Call in another week," she said.
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Word finally came that the company wouldn't pay. A letter from the insurance company said a truck had moved the steel plate designed to protect cars from the hole.
The insurance company said Yessica came along shortly after the truck and the construction company didn't have a chance to put the plate back, so they weren't at fault and wouldn't pay.
"It was completely unfair, I was driving a Jeep, designed to be driven off the road," Rostro said.
Yessica had insurance, but only liability coverage, so it wouldn't pay for the damage to her car.
She now understands the importance of full coverage.
The producers in our Consumer Investigative Center still reached out and asked the insurance company to take a second look.
"The following day, the claim representative called me and said we have good news, we reviewed the photos and videos you sent us, we are going to pay for your car," she said.
The lesson here is pretty obvious. A lack of insurance on your car can cause big problems for you.
As for that steel plate in the road getting moved, the Texas Department of Transportation tells NBC 5 there are no statewide regulations for those and who's responsible.
