VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia Beach family has been cited for construction debris and trash on their property. This after two vehicles plowed into their Forest Glen Road home last Wednesday during a crash involving a city trash truck.
The Weiss family tells 10 On Your Side the citation came in the mail on Saturday but was dated Thursday, not even 12 hours after the crash.
“The next morning we were so tired as it was we couldn’t even start clean-up until about 9:00/10:00 in the morning,” said Chris Weiss.
Weiss’s brother, sister-in-law and nephew lived in the now-condemned home.
The citation issued to the family by the city of Virginia Beach details a property maintenance violation.
“It makes no sense why the inspector who was the same person who condemned the house the night before wrote them up citations,” Weiss stated.
To comply, the Weiss family must remove all rusted, wrecked or dismantled debris from their property along with any trash. If the family does not clean up their yard within seven days of receiving the citation, they’ll be fined $150 and could be subject to legal action.
Weiss says his family couldn’t access the property until after dark when police cleared the scene Wednesday. He believes the citation was written almost nine hours later.
“How heartless and ruthless is the city of Virginia Beach that they can’t give a family time to cope with what’s going on,” Weiss said.
Weiss tells us fortunately his brother and sister-in-law were at work during the accident and his nephew was at school–out of harm’s way. It was when his brother got a call from a friend who happened to drive by the house off of S Rosemont and Forest Glen Roads that he realized they lost nearly everything.
10 On Your Side reached out to the city regarding the violation. A city spokesperson sent the following:
Last Wednesday, an accident caused two vehicles to crash through a home at S. Rosemont Rd. and Forest Glen Rd. This incident is still under investigation. The following day, Virginia Beach Code Enforcement dispatched an inspector to examine the damage. We can confirm that a citation for construction debris and trash on their property was issued. This was a mistake and City management has personally reached out to the family to apologize as this was the last thing the family needed to be concerned about under the circumstances.
“They said they’ve been trying to call them but they’re not getting answers from anybody,” Weiss explained.
For now, the home on Forest Glen Road sits with boards covering the gaping holes caused by two vehicles as the Weiss family is left to pick up the pieces literally and figuratively. They’ve since started a GoFundMe to get back on their feet, repair the two vehicles that were parked in their driveway and smashed in the crash, and care for their senior cat named Max who survived the ordeal.
“That is the one thing we were all kind of worried about because my brother’s son and that cat are buddy-buddy,” Weiss said.
Max was found still in the home hiding behind a couch. The family is also encouraging others to help the two women–Hannah Hendrickson and Shelby Moyler–who were in the truck that plowed into the family’s home, landing upside down during the crash with a city trash truck.
“God’s been looking out for all of us,” Weiss concluded.