Ohio hail takes heavy toll on cars

Findlay dealer expects to hold 'hail sale' of damaged inventory

A few of the golf ball-size hail balls that bombarded Clyde, Ohio, this week.

DAYTON, Ohio — Ohio vehicle insurers and body shops say they're busy in the aftermath of hail the size of golf balls that took a heavy toll on cars.

Mike Coleman at Centerville Body Shop in southwest Ohio tells the Dayton Daily News up to 15 owners of damaged vehicles were waiting when the business opened on Thursday, the day after the storm. He says he's never seen so many broken windows from hail.

State Farm Insurance says it received nearly 1,700 automobile claims in the Dayton area by midafternoon Thursday.

In northwest Ohio, used car manager Ed Jones at Reineke (RY'-neh-kee) Ford Lincoln in Findlay says about 400 cars were damaged, nearly every vehicle on the lot. He tells The Courier newspaper the dealership will likely announce a "hail sale" soon.