GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids man put funny "for sale" signs on his truck destroyed by storm damage in hopes the community gets a laugh.
Like many in West Michigan, Eric Soya woke up Tuesday morning to some gnarly storm damage at his home near Colorado and Hall.
"I was in the basement, heard a crack, being in the basement, it was kind of muffled, so I didn't think it was right here, came up, looked out the door and saw that it was the truck," Soya told 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
A large tree landed on the front half of his black, Ford pickup truck. With heavy damage, half the truck is smashed and the tires are blown out.
"It was just a big, frowny face," Soya said in response.
While the tree is now out of the road, he said crews couldn't immediately take care of the huge section of tree nestled comfortably on his truck.
"Nothing I can do about it, it is what it is."
So, he decided to have a little fun as people slowed down to get a look at his mess.
"I'm an old car guy, so there's always these jokes about, you see ads for these cars that say, 'ran when parked,' and it's a car that's sunk into the ground that far, and it's all rusted. So I thought, you know what? I'm going to put a sign on it that says, 'ran when parked.'"
The left side of the truck also has a sign that says '"for sale: you don't see many like this." One on the back says "Selfies for an excuse not to go to work, $10."
"I actually had to use this on Tuesday, I sent my coworkers a text with a picture, and I said, 'I got some car trouble, I'm not going to be in today,' and so then I thought, you know what? Give someone else the chance too," Soya explained.
Soya is waiting for his insurance to assess the damage. In the meantime, he has a backup vehicle.
"It could have been so much worse, no one was hurt, it didn't hit the house, didn't take down any power lines, it was just the truck."
While very positive about what happened, Soya also told 13 ON YOUR SIDE he typically parks his truck about 20 feet behind where he parked it Monday night. He said he decided to move it up to its current position to give more space to his neighborhood recycling crew.
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