Caltrans forced to shut down parts of pothole-filled 71 Freeway
California Department of Transportation officials were forced to close part of the SR-71 following dozens of pothole-related complaints through the Pomona and Chino Hills portion of the freeway.
Giovani Vialta is one of the many drivers that have been left with a hefty bill after driving over a pothole.
"I just hit this pothole and it was a loud thud and I could really hear it in the car," Vialta said. "It just ruptured and did all this damage."
With his tire ruptured and stuck with a spare, for the time being, Vialta had the foot the bill for a whole new set of tires.
"The tire, alone, is maybe $100, but you don't ever want to change one so the set is probably $300," he said.
Vialta quickly found out that he wasn't the only person that fell victim to the dubious potholes on the 71 Freeway.
"Talking to the two truck driver that towed me, he told me he was working this freeway all night long, pulling cars off that road," Mike Frias recalled.
Mike Frias hit a different pothole that punctured his tire just a few miles south of Vialta's crash site on the 71 Freeway.
"It was pretty close to $400 for my new tires and the rims are pretty scarred up," said Frias. "I don't know if I should replace them."
Following the storms, the SR-71 was littered with many massive potholes, forcing Caltrans to shut down portions of the freeway that run through Pomona until Monday.
If you find yourself hitting a pothole, experts advise you to just roll through it without slamming on the brakes.
"If you slam on the brakes it only causes more force on the tires," said AAA spokesperson Doug Shupe.
Anyone can file a claim with Caltrans for damages that total up to $10,000.
