City blamed for destroying chrome rims worth $8,800
Wheels and tires damaged by road conditions, claim says.
By JEFF OVERLEY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comments 70 | Recommend 2
NEWPORT BEACH – You know those movie chase scenes where the sports car zooms over a crest in the road, catches a little air and then keeps speeding along? Doesn't work out so well in real life.
Not if Bernard Steimann's story is true, that is. The 27-year-old Costa Mesa resident has filed a legal claim against the city of Newport Beach, saying a four-inch-tall ledge on a street that was under construction flattened his luxury sedan's tires and destroyed its 20-inch wheels.
Steimann has received loaner wheels for his Mercedes-Benz CLS-550, but to get back rollin' on dubs permanently, he wants $8,836 – the cost of replacing his full chrome Vellano rims and accompanying low-profile tires.
He's also asking for $450 to cover the cost of the vehicle he rented from a friend following the Aug. 7 incident.
According to Steimann's written claim, his fiancee was driving the Mercedes about 20-25 mph at night along Irvine Avenue at Mesa Drive when it hit the uneven section of road.
"It sounded as though the entire car was going to fall apart and (that) I had just driven into a wall," the claim says.
Seconds later, dashboard lights began flashing and an onboard computer stated "severe tire malfunction," leading the fiancee to pull over and call for assistance. In the end, all the wheels were "severely bent/cracked," and air would not stay in any of the tires, the claim says.
In an interview, Steimann said Newport Beach officials haven't formally acted on the claim, which is a required precursor to any lawsuit.
City officials did not immediately have a comment, and it is not clear they are responsible. That road construction project was a county effort, Newport Beach officials said previously.
