CINCINNATI — Multiple drivers say they've paid thousands of dollars for flat tires and car damage because of one pothole in the northbound lanes of I-471.
"I don't know how I didn't blow both my tires," driver Joey Pi said.
On Feb. 16, Pi was traveling on the interstate and hit the pothole himself. He said a police car and flares were blocking off cars that the pothole had impacted.
"It was probably seven ... eight cars," he said.
He showed WCPO 9 News his tires and said he was shocked he didn't get a flat tire. Pi took to Reddit to warn community members about the pothole and found dozens of people saying the same things.
"There's no better way to welcome you to Ohio than to hit you with a big ole pothole," he said.
We took the community concerns to ODOT's District 8 Public Information Officer Kathleen Fuller.
"We look to the public for their eyes on things as well," she said.
Watch our discussion with Fuller on what to do if your car is damaged by a pothole:
Throughout our conversation, we asked her how people could report a pothole, request fixing and possibly get reimbursed for their car repairs.
"The easiest way to start with the process is go to our website," Fuller said. "That'll take you right to the system where you fill out the information to alert us of the claim."
She said the actual claim would go through the Ohio Claims Court. Once ODOT gets its green light, it can issue the reimbursement, not including the deductible.
Fuller said this summer could be busy for ODOT as the winter months have put severe wear and tear on our streets.
"This might be one of our years where we have an uptick in damage reports for potholes because of the type of season we've had," she said.
Fuller said fixing a pothole can take as little as 24 hours after report submission, but said she highly recommends all drivers file the complaint through ODOT's website as soon as possible.
Pi said his advice would be to "just slow down."
"Swerving, you're gonna put yourself at risk and other people at risk," said Pi.
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