Woman Locked Out of Apartment Months After Car Crashed Through Wall, Says Landlord Won’t Respond

A Maryland woman says she has been locked out of her apartment for months after a car crashed through her front wall, leaving her unable to retrieve her belongings and unable to get answers from her landlord.

Marcia Shawn says the incident happened just as she returned from running a quick errand. According to Baltimore County police, a tenant from a third-floor unit drove a Nissan Rogue into Shawn’s ground-floor apartment around 6 p.m. on December 16.

“Thank God that I was not in that chair when it happened,” Shawn said. “I had just come back into the door and was standing behind my recliner when everything crashed.”

Shawn, a 67-year-old amputee who lives at the Reisterstown Senior Complex, says her landlord, Severn Management, boarded up the damaged unit, changed the locks, and relocated her to another apartment down the hall. However, she says she has not been allowed to enter her original unit to collect her belongings.

“They basically locked me out of everything I own,” Shawn said. “That’s like my entire life savings.”

She says nearly all of her furniture, personal items, and important documents remain inside the locked apartment, leaving her without basic necessities in her new unit. Shawn says repeated attempts to contact the landlord have gone unanswered, including outreach from her attorney.

“My lawyer is just baffled,” Shawn said. “He can’t believe this.”

Shawn says she may consider legal action if the situation continues. WBAL-TV reports it reached out to the property management company both in person and by email but received no response.

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