By Laura Michell
A Sunbury resident is facing her car being written off after driving through a spill on Bulla Road, which she suspects was sewage.
Marnie Webber was driving up the hill from Bulla to Sunbury in the far left lane about 7.45pm on Monday, April 28, when she drove through a “huge spill” of sludge.
“It was dark and raining … the whole car slid to to the left,” she said.
Unaware of what she had driven through, Ms Webber got the car home with the help of her husband, Paul.
“It It smelt putrid straight away,” she said.
The next day, her husband took the car to a car wash but that made no difference.
“It still stunk. It was so bad we couldn’t have it in our garage, in our driveway. We could still smell it from inside [the house],” Ms Webber said.
Ms Webber then took the car to a manned car wash, where a power hose was used to clean the door seals – but the smell remained.
“I rang up my panel beater and I brought my car around there. He rang me and said ‘I can’t fix it, it’s a bio hazard, it need to go to a licenced bio hazard treatment place’.
“There was all toilet paper undeath my car; all sludge underneath my car.
“I was so sick from being in the car.”
Ms Webber said she her insurance company was trying to figure how to get the car cleaned, but warned her it would be written off if it couldn’t be cleaned.
“I just want my car clean, I’d lose money on insurance if have to buy a new car,” she said.
Ms Webber said that in the two weeks since the incident, no one had taken responsibility for the spill or its clean up – and she is no closer to knowing what she drove through.
She said she contacted Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and was told it was a Hume council issue.
Council said it was Department of Transport and Planning issue, she said.
“I’m just disappointed that nobody really cares,” she said.
“Somebody could have been killed on that road it was such a big spill.
“No responsibility is being taken.”
Council told Star Weekly that it had not received any reports about a sewage spill on Bulla Road.
“VicRoads is the co-ordinating road authority responsible for the management of Bulla Road.,” council said.
EPA and the department were contacted for comment.
