BILLINGS - When Ashley Power came home from work Friday evening, she was greeted with an unpleasant surprise: the fence to her backyard destroyed after someone had driven through it.
The Powers have owned their house, which is located on the corner of 36th Street West and Rosebud Drive, for over 20 years, and Ashley said they've never encountered anything like this.
“It’s pretty scary, especially having kids and pets," Power said. "Thinking that we have this fence to keep people out and just having someone go right through it is a little alarming."
Power said she believes it was an accident, due to slippery roads from fresh snowfall. However, she would have liked to know who was involved so that they could handle some of the financial responsibilities.
Instead, the driver took off and left no way to contact them.
“Accidents happen. Leave a note or knock on the door and be like, ‘oh no. This just happened,'" Power said. "We’re going to have to pay for this. We do have insurance, but deductibles are high."
Power filed a police report, and she said Billings Police Department has been involved, but it's difficult to get anywhere because no one has come forward with any videos or pictures of the fence being destroyed.
While the destruction of the fence is alarming, Power knows it could've been much more tragic.
“What if it was the middle of the day, and my son was behind there playing?" Power said. "You never know. You just have to be really careful."
She is hopeful that her downed fence will serve as a reminder to all to drive cautiously on slick city streets.
“Just really watch your surroundings and everything, because it could definitely look like snowpack, but it could be icy underneath,” Power said.
