JACKSONVILLE, Fla., – Flat tires, bent rims and even busted bumpers -- all courtesy of a deep pothole on a busy Mandarin road.
The hole was reported on Loretto Road between Gwynford and Kennedy lanes.
“It was like everybody that passed through that same area, immediately their tires just popped,” driver Karyn Mikula said. “It was significant. It wasn’t just a little bump. It was deep.”
A photo of the pothole before it was filled in shows it filled with water that goes up to a woman's calf when she sticks her foot in it.
City officials said a Public Works crew determined the pothole was a cave-in, and they temporarily filled it Thursday night until repairs can be scheduled.
Those repairs came about 2½ hours after multiple cars drove into the hole and suffered major damage.
“For them to come out immediately after it took place and knowing that that many people were affected, that just shows to me that the city is very well aware that there was a problem and that it should have been taken care of,” Mikula said.
Mikula said it was dark and raining hard, and the city didn’t give adequate signs warning of a hazard in the middle of the road.
She said a single barricade was on the sidewalk with a light that wasn’t blinking and the pavement was spray-painted.
Another driver whose car was damaged by the pothole also said the barricade was not functioning correctly.
"The light was out on the barricade and the barricade's on the sidewalk," Mike Monahan said. "It's raining. Even if we did see the barricade, we would have swerved away from the barricade directly into the pothole anyways. It's a little strange."
Mikula’s car was in the shop Friday with two bent rims and two tires that need replacing. She's one of several people waiting for repair estimates, and wondering who is responsible for the cost of the damage.
State Farm Agent Matt Carlucci said drivers with collision coverage can file an insurance claim for damage caused by a pothole.
Drivers without collision coverage or those with a deductible higher than the damage cost can take a claim directly to the city if they think the city could be responsible.
“The worst they can say is no, that it is not covered,” Carlucci said. “If they say no, then you can call an attorney, but then by that time, you were spending so much money, you are best to just fix it on your own and move on.”
If you spot any potholes around town, call 630-CITY to report them to Public Works.