Local woman shares icy, windshield-shattering roadway experience

SALISBURY, Md. – It’s been a rough week for Samantha Reeping-Miller.

She’s left picking up the pieces after she said a sheet of ice blew off of a box truck coming from the opposite direction on Airport Road in Salisbury and shattered her windshield, Wednesday.

“It was super loud. My wife was in the passenger seat, so she probably got the midst of it all, but it was almost like Bam! I almost thought that I was frozen in time, but it just, like, smashed me,” Samantha said.

Samantha said the driver of the truck did not stop. Safelite has quoted a windshield replacement for her Acura TLX at $1,200, while Delmarva Auto Glass offered to make the fix for $524.
All the while, Samantha’s also battling it out with insurance.

“It’s rough because insurance, I have like a $1,000 deductible for comprehensive, so they’re not in the picture right now,” Samantha said. “And with the sensors on the vehicle, it’s not just an easy repair of replacing a windshield.”

Shantee Felix with the Maryland State Highway Administration told WMDT these types of situations are preventable, if folks take the extra time to clean off their entire car.

“When you have winter weather, it’s not a typical day and we know a lot of people can be in a rush to get to their destinations,” Felix said. “It’s critically important to clean off your cars completely; that means from the top of your car and the hood and the trunk.”

Samantha may have a broken windshield but not a broken spirit. She hopes her story will encourage someone on Delmarva to not be that driver, with all that snow and ice piled on top of their car.

“Please clean off your cars. If you can’t do it, ask a neighbor. Just try to start your car, get a broom, clean it off,” Samantha said.

Samantha organized a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of repair. To donate, click this link.