COLUMBIA, S.C. — Last Friday, a driver says a pothole on I-77 south bound near the Columbia Sewage Treatment Plant damaged her car.
She's also said she's not alone.
While driving to work on Friday January 24 around 9:00 a.m. Ashley Ray said she was driving on I-77 when a piece of concrete from a pothole hit her Nissan.
"That was an expensive pothole," Ray said.
Ray said that pothole landed her a $2,100 bill.
"I was driving to work, typical day, and I'm in the right lane, the car in front of me swerves, and of course there's this huge chunk of concrete that was flying across the interstate, so it hit my car," Ray said. "That's such a dangerous spot."
She quickly moved to the side of the road and realized she wasn't alone. In 30 minutes, she said others started pulling over right behind her.
"As I'm on the phone I literally am just watching car after car, hit it pull over, hit it pull over, so there was five of us on the side of the road all with slashed tires," Ray said.
Ray said she took her car to the dealership and soon learned that big piece of concrete caused even bigger problems.
"I could not believe it," Ray said.
Ray said she needed a new tire, rim, hub, tire air pressure sensor and an alignment.
On that same day, Ray said she called the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
"I'm not really hopeful, but I'd like to get my money back," Ray said.
SCDOT told her to submit a claim online.
"They knew exactly where the hole was," Ray said.
An official with SCDOT said they received a call about the potholes January 21 and a crew patched them up the next day. On January 30 they said they patched more potholes, including the one from this story.
"I'm scared to go in the middle and right lane," Ray said "I don't want to get to close to it again, but there are so many holes on that interstate, how do you know which one is going to ruin your tire and cost $2,100."
The SCDOT said they have temporarily patched the pothole and they expect to have a contractor available in mid-February for a more permanent fix.
On the SCDOT website it says the following:
"The South Carolina Tort Claims Act (Section 15-78-10) allows an individual to file a claim against the Agency.
An individual has one year from the date of occurrence to file a damage claim. Under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, the Agency or its insurance carrier has 180 days after a claim is received to make a decision whether the claim is paid or denied."
Click here, for more information on how to file a damage claim against SCDOT.