After the storms, many Bay Area drivers dealing with pothole damage
REDWOOD CITY -- More and more drivers are on a collision course with potholes in the wake of the series of atmospheric winter storms.
The latest victims were starting their day with a drive along Highway 101 in Redwood City. Kyle Murray was one of the unlucky ones.
"It was just, 'Boom, boom.' And then we were like, 'We need to get over (to the shoulder).' We got over as safely as possible and we called AAA," Murray said.
Both tires on the driver's side of his car were damaged by the pothole. Even more expensive, the force of the impact cracked and bent his wheels, meaning they too had to be replaced.
"Both of us have jobs. We only have one car right now. And so, I need to get it fixed as soon as possible so we can continue to go to our work," Murray said.
Kyle and his wife Megan were not alone. As many as 20 other drivers along that same stretch of highway but in the northbound lanes also had their cars and trucks damaged.
"When I hit the pothole or whatever it was it was huge. It felt like the whole car jumped off the ground," says Demetrius Beauchamp whose truck struck a massive pothole near the Woodside Road exit.
"It really like shook the car. If there was someone next to me, I might have hit them because I was in both lanes by the time I got control of the car again," he said.
Caltrans crews have been scrambling to patch potholes around the Bay Area.
But that is little comfort for Murray who is now out hundreds of dollars -- possibly thousands -- in repairs.
There is a process for drivers to try and collect damages from Caltrans. Drivers impacted submit their damage claims using this link: https://dot.ca.gov/online-services/submit-damage-claim
