McDonald said his truck was totaled and currently sits in a tow lot, racking up about $20 per day in storage fees. He said he had to buy a vehicle to get to work, and the city should do the right thing and cut him a check.
“Basically, I went from no car payment to a $338-per-month payment,” he said.
But Dayton officials said an investigation into the incident determined the city is not legally liable for the damages since it did not receive prior notice of the road defect.
“We pay the claims we are legally responsible to pay, but the case law says we’re not the insurer of people who travel on the roadways,” said John Musto, Dayton’s assistant attorney.
At 6:10 a.m. Nov. 18, McDonald was driving to work on High Knoll Drive when he spotted water pooling at the bottom of a hill.
McDonald said he figured the water was just melted snow and ice from salt treatments. But the road gave out, and the front end of McDonald’s 2000 Chevy S-10 plunged into a hole.
McDonald climbed out of the window. He was not injured.
But his truck’s motor was submerged in water and destroyed, he said. The undercarriage was crushed.
The truck was towed, and the city told McDonald to get two estimates of the damage. One was for $6,600 and the other was for $6,525.
The truck is inoperable and sits in a tow lot in Tipp City.
McDonald owned the truck and carried liability insurance. His policy, however, does not cover damage caused by events like a road collapse.
McDonald submitted a claim with the city for $10,000, which he says was the amount needed to replace his vehicle.
McDonald said he borrowed a relative’s vehicle for a while as he waited to hear back from the city. He eventually decided to buy a used pick-up truck for about $18,900. He said he planned to use the city’s reimbursement to pay down the principal on his new vehicle and refinance his loan.
But in late January, McDonald received a letter from the city’s law department saying it would not pay his claim. McDonald was stunned.
In the letter, Interim Law Director Lynn Donaldson said a thorough investigation determined the city was not negligent and did not receive prior notice of the road’s condition before the sinkhole formed. The sinkhole was caused by a water main break.
The city is only legally liable for a defect in the roadway if it received actual or constructive notice of problem and had sufficient time to fix it, officials said.
Prior notice includes being contacted about the defect or the defect existing for such a period of time that the city should have discovered and repaired the problem.
Water main breaks are caused by temperature changes, corrosion and shifting ground, and the city could not have known about the break until it happened, officials said.
But McDonald claims the city worked on a damaged water pipe up the road the night before the wreck. He said the water was turned off at his home because of pipe repairs.
“They knew there were issues and damages with that pipeline,” he said.
McDonald said he has considered suing the city for damages, but fears he could get stuck with a bill for legal costs if he loses.
“The city is of Dayton is like, ‘Hey taxpayer, sorry about your luck, but go ahead and get an attorney and it will cost you another $3,000, and now you’re out $10,000 with no truck’,” he said.
Motorists should consider comprehensive auto policies, because the optional coverage provides compensation for losses or damages caused by events not related to collisions or vehicles overturning, such as flooding, hail, vandalism, theft and sinkholes, said Mary Bonelli, spokeswoman for the Ohio Insurance Institute.
She said some people choose not to carry comprehensive coverage because of the cost or age of their vehicles.
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