Driver ‘cringing’ after huge pothole on U.S. 35 E damages rims, flattens tires

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A Dayton driver now must spend hundreds of dollars after hitting a huge pothole Tuesday night on U.S. 35 East.

With warmer weather road crews across the region are working on filling potholes. But that was not soon enough to prevent Katrina Haston of Dayton from dealing with expensive damage to her vehicle.

“It was terrible. I was cringing, like, you just knew it was bad,” Haston said of running over the pothole in the right lane of the interstate just after the split for Interstate 75 near downtown Dayton.

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Credit: SEAN CUDAHY / STAFF

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Credit: SEAN CUDAHY / STAFF

“I could see the other car swerve, but by the time I see what he was swerving for, I was hitting it,” she said.

Although she could hear air coming out of her tires, she was able to make it home. But then her two left side tires went flat. That’s when she noticed both of her rims were bent, too.

>> Dayton: We need your help to fix potholes

Haston said she spent the day going to junk yards. The best she could find were two used wheels that aren’t really the right size.

“It’s not going to last long,” she said.

The price for new rims is $400 — each.

>> Dayton traffic from the WHIO Traffic Center

Those who apply for reimbursement will have to prove their car was damaged after coming into contact with a “dangerous condition” that the city or county knew about or should have known about and failed to fix.

Other motorists are urged to use caution on U.S. 35 East. As of Wednesday evening, that pothole was still there.

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