Potholes Take A Toll On Oklahoma Drivers

A problematic pothole pops tires on the Sand Springs Expressway. The News On 6 talked to driver after driver who said they didn't see the pothole until it was too late. At least seven drivers smashed

Thursday, May 3rd 2007, 4:42 pm

By: News On 6

A problematic pothole pops tires on the Sand Springs Expressway. The News On 6 talked to driver after driver who said they didn't see the pothole until it was too late. At least seven drivers smashed into the pothole, and some of those lost more than one tire. News On 6 anchor Scott Thompson reports the problem leaves drivers asking, who pays?

"It sounded like somebody threw a rock and hit the back part of my van and BOOM!" said Josh Staples.

He's the first of several drivers with a flat tire, a bent rim and a wasted afternoon. He was on his way to work. Staples was just on his lunch break. He works, of all places, at an auto repair shop. Now it's his car that needs work.

"The rims are about $150 each," said Staples.

Staples is one of five drivers who pulled over on the Sand Springs Expressway when they hit the pothole. It's just off the IDL. Several drivers found out just how much damage an eight-inch drop can do.

"It doesn't look as deep as it is, but it's a big one," said Staples.

Staples, an ORU student from Colorado, had both of his passenger side tires popped.

"It's either hitting the pothole or hitting another vehicle,â€ said pothole victim Sonya. â€œI'm sorry. I'm going to hit the pothole instead of another vehicle, but it's crazy."

Sonya made it to a QuikTrip down the road, and it wasn't long before another driver joined her. She says it's the second time a pothole has popped her tire.

"I feel that they need to take care of my tire,â€ she said. â€œYou know, this is crazy. I'm tired of buying tires."

"Since they've been working on this construction, it's been real bad, real bad, but I think this is the worst Iâ€™ve seen,â€ said Staples.

ODOT says the construction company is responsible for getting these drivers fixed up. The company, Becco Contractors, said they were out patching potholes Wednesday night, and the rain has been making their job harder.

It will be August before construction on the Sand Springs Expressway will be finished. Drivers we talked to said they were lucky it wasn't raining when this happened. They said they had a hard enough time keeping control of their vehicle as it was.

Watch the video: Pothole Causing Traffic Problems On Busy Expressway