Who is at fault when a golf ball slams into your vehicle?

CALDWELL, Idaho - Kari Ward was driving down 10th Avenue in Caldwell with her son in the back seat when her car turned into a hole-in-one.

"All of a sudden I hear this big bang," she said. "All of this glass comes flying in at me."

Ward soon found herself driving in circles after a golf ball from Caldwell's Fairview Golf Course shattered her windshield.

"There was blood running down my arm, and my son was freaking out saying mommy's hurt, mommy's hurt," Ward said. "I don't think that it's right that just because it wasn't this big, horrible accident, that nobody cares."

KATU's sister station in Boise, Idaho - KBOI 2 - wanted to know who is responsible when the golfer's swing doesn't aim for the right hole.

Lenny Stroup, a golf professional, was working at Fairview the day Kari's car got tagged.

"Certainly hate to see these accidents happen," Stroup said.

He believes a sportsman on the third tee smacked a ball, shattering Ward's window.

"If they are not going to own up to their error in shot, there's really nothing that anybody can do," Stroup said.

He said out of 20,000-plus tee times every year, about six to 12 cars are hit on that stretch of road. Workers planted trees to help protect the road.

But his signs are clear: Golfers are responsible, and the best bet for drivers is to pull over.

"Stop immediately," Stroup said. "Confront the golfers in that immediate area, and let's hope that they'll own up to that errant golf shot."

Ward said police suggested she try civil court. But without a defendant, she's footing the bill.

"It's sad that nobody will take ownership of it," she said. "They just keep pointing to the signs that the golfers are responsible."