RICHMOND, Calif. -- Caltrans has been the target of plenty of anger this week. But few people have more reason to be upset than Andrea Nelson.

“I don't know,” said Nelson. “It's a Mazda five something. I don't like it.”

Nelson showed KTVU the rental car that she's been using for the past two days since she was caught up in the Bay Bridge mess on Tuesday night.

Nelson's Lexus was one of three vehicles damaged by the falling cable and debris.

At the time, she thought she was crashing over the side of the bridge.

“Fortunately, when I hit the barrier, I was able to redirect the car,” explained Nelson. “So then it was in line with the flow of traffic.”

After her heart dropped back to its rightful place, she got out and saw she had four flat tires. Nelson had her car towed to a body shop in Richmond which Thursday gave her the bad news.

"The body shop assessed it and told me my car's been totaled,” said Nelson. “Basically because of all the damage that's been done to the frame and underneath the car. It's pretty extensive. And they also told me how lucky I was to be in that size of a car and that nothing else happened.

So now, Nelson wants help from those responsible for the bridge incident, but she feels she's getting the runaround from Caltrans.

"Both my insurance company and I have reached out to them and have been told it's standard operating procedure,” said an exasperated Nelson. “We have to fill out a form; it's about three months for it to get processed. They could not guarantee if I went above my policy limit that I would be reimbursed for the rental car.”

So Nelson is stuck in a rental car for months, and she's been told that Caltrans may not even cover the rental costs.

“Part of the claims process of course would be the costs related to repairing your vehicle,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Lauren Wonder. “That's part of the process. We are a state government agency and we do treat all citizens equally.”

Nelson said after her story aired on Tuesday night on KTVU, she heard from Goodyear who offered to replace her four blown out tires for free.

“I would love it if Lexus would contact me and offer a new car to replace mine,” said Nelson. “That's what would make me really happy.”

That may be unlikely, but Caltrans did promise to reimburse Nelson for her loss once the paperwork is processed.

The question that remains is if she will be able to replace her car with the money she receives.