EL CAJON, Calif. — An El Cajon police chase in March ended with a car plowing into a condo on North Mollison Avenue. Five months later, the owner of the condo is still battling with the homeowner’s association to get the damage fixed.
Cell phone video shows the crash scene in El Cajon on March 19.
The driver -- in a high-speed chase with El Cajon police -- ended up crashing into the front of Jenny Wu’s condo in the Villa Madera complex, destroying the front of the building and doing damage inside, as well.
“The downstairs bathroom has been totally destroyed. Also, the tenant's computer and the sofa are broken,” said Wu, with the help of a translator.
The driver of the car did not have auto insurance, according to Wu, and for the past five months, she has been trying to get the Villa Madera HOA to repair the damages.
Wu rents out the condo and her tenants had to move out.
“For five months she has not received any rent and now there is the mental loss, lots of stress,” said Wu's translator.
Because the condo is part of a multifamily residential dwelling complex, the HOA carries insurance on the structures.
Wu said the HOA’s management company, Property Management Consultants in Mission Valley, told her she has to pay the insurance deductible.
“The HOA request(ed) $10,000 from her for the detectable,” said Wu’s translator.
News 8 reached out to the management company via email and telephone but has not received a response back as of Tuesday evening.
A review of court records showed Property Management Consultants has been sued numerous times in small claims court over the years.
Wu has a simple message for the HOA and its management company.
“Please fix all the damages as soon as possible,” she said.
News 8 reached out to the homeowner's association itself via email but received no response as of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Wu said she continues to pay more than $300 per month in HOA fees on the rental unit, which she can't rent out. The legal battle may come down to the HOA’s CC&R documents, which may or may not spell out whether homeowners have to pay the insurance deductible for certain damages.
Wu could end up having to pay the $10,000 deductible and then go to court to try and get reimbursed from either the HOA or the driver of the vehicle who smashed into her condo.