Germantown houses damaged by rocks from snowblowers

A rock broke Jackie Amaya's bedroom window. The inside has a wooden board to block out the cold. (WTOP/Thomas Warren)
Joseph Belcher holds rocks that he says came over the wall with the debris. (WTOP/Thomas Warren)
The dirt on the window is where the family says the rock hit their window. (WTOP/Thomas Warren)
From inside the Belchers' home, you can see the 25-foot wall. The rocks came over that wall along I-270. (WTOP/Thomas Warren)
(1/4)

WASHINGTON — A stretch of northbound Interstate-270 in Germantown, Md. has a 25- foot wall separating it from area homes. But it didn’t protect several homeowners from rocks when snowblowers came through on Friday morning.

Three windows were broken in Jackie Amaya’s home by rocks that were thrown by snowblowers along the interstate. She was at work when it happened. She says the siding got hit as well.

She says the City of Gaithersburg is investigating her situation.

Joseph Belcher and his wife Kristi have lived in their Germantown home for two years.

On Friday morning, Kristi Belcher saw “a giant pile of snow barreling at our house, hitting our roof, covering our yard.”

They say their 3-year-old son was near a window when rocks also came over the wall.

“It was literally on a collision course with where he was when it happened,” Joseph Belcher says.

“I didn’t think we would have to worry about rocks getting shot through out windows when we moved here.”

The couple has been in contact with a state agency about their damages.

WTOP’s Thomas Warren contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on the WTOP Facebook page.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up