Disastrous Cary pothole costs driver thousands
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cary resident Jaisheela Kondru was driving her new BMW convertible to her birthday dinner with Arun Nandyala and other friends Monday night. But everything changed when she drove over a pothole in Cary on Beaver Dam Road and Green Level West.
"I hear this horrendous thud," Kondru said. "I could tell it was metal on metal. I knew something was wrong.
"Suddenly I heard the big bump sound," Nandyala said. "We were all screaming in the car. The burn smell is coming and everything. And we got so scared."
Kondru's beloved car was damaged. Her tire, the suspension, the axle, and the steering engine were all affected.
North Carolina Department of Transportation says this pothole is a repeat problem; they've fixed it time and time again but it keeps reappearing. NCDOT sent a crew to fix the pothole again Wednesday, but spokesman Steve Abbott said they found the deeper problem.
"We believe the bridge that is adjacent to the pothole is loose, and that's vibrating a little bit and that's shaking up the asphalt a little bit," Abbott said.
Kondru wants to be assured the pothole is fixed once and for all. She also wants NCDOT to pay the cost of her repairs, estimated at $3,000.
"I'm gonna fight for it," she said. "I'm also happy that all four of us walked away from that without a scratch."
Kondru says she will file a claim with NCDOT requesting they pay for the damages. It will be up to the Attorney General's office to decide if NCDOT will have to pay.
If you have an incident, you can also file a claim by going to their website.
