The boss of a transport company at the centre of a mammoth scrap metal spill on a busy NSW highway said the financial toll of the accident could be in the millions.
General manager of NJ Ashton Daniel Falconer said he has been overwhelmed with insurance claims from drivers who had their tyres shredded after the spill on the M1 motorway on the NSW Central Coast on Friday.
Falconer explained that while the majority of the nearly 800 claims appear to be legitimate, he warned some people are lodging “dodgy” claims.
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“On Friday we were looking at three hundred to four hundred cars [damaged], but we worked out there was a lot of people we didn’t know about,” Falconer told 9news.com.au.
“A lot of people didn’t even know they had flat tyres until they came out of work.
“It’s probably going to [cost] closer to $2 million.”
Hundreds of cars were left damaged after metal debris was scattered across the M1 on Friday morning.
The mammoth clean-up closed the highway and resulted in gridlocked traffic.
Falconer said the truck driver involved has been pulled off the roads but is doing well after a stressful few days.
”He was stressed to the hilt, he’s been stressed for a few days, but we’ve him got in our yard doing some yard work,” he said.
It will take up to four weeks to investigate the cause of the crash.
The driver was travelling south on the M1 between Wyong and Mooney Mooney early on Friday morning when it happened.
If it happened just one hour later during peak hour, Falconer said the damage could have been far worse.
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He described the traffic impact on Friday as “crazy”.
“I’d never seen that many cars parked up on the side of the road in my entire life,” Falconer added.
Anyone who has suffered damage as a result should contact NJ Ashton, with the company’s insurance set to cover the costs.
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