Car crunched by grader plowing snow in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG – Snow plows and graders are busy trying to get rid of snow across the city.

The heavy machinery can also cause a lot of damage if drivers get too close.

“His left wheel was directly lined up with my face,” said Carlene Unrau, who was in a car that was repeatedly hit by a grader Friday.”He got on top of the car, came off then got back on and came up to the windshield.”

Unrau said her fiance who was driving the car left plenty of room, around 20 feet, for the grater working at Archibald and Marion.

With traffic behind leaving no space to back up, the pair jumped out of the vehicle.

“I think it definitely would have been worse if we didn’t get his attention,” Unrau said.

The city said drivers should always give crews a lot of space but also tells employees and contractors to keep an eye on where they are going.

“Our plow operators treat this with a serious nature with regards to being out and involved with the public,” said Jim Berezowsky, the manager of streets and maintenance for Winnipeg. “They use every bit of caution they can within their cab of their vehicles.”

Berezowsky doesn’t know how many accidents involved plows and graters this winter, however Manitoba Public Insurance said it is rare.

“It does happen but it’s not very common,” said Brian Smiley, with MPI. “We handle a handful of claims every year.”

Smiley said if you do get into a crash with snow crews, make sure you can prove it by getting a witness. If not drivers could be on the hook for paying their deductible.