MIAMI (WSVN) - Crews have repaired large potholes on an exit ramp of Interstate 95 in downtown Miami, less than 24 hours after one of the holes caused a driver’s car tire to explode, leaving him stranded.
Andres Asion said craters in the pavement were to blame for the damaging drive.
“Oh, not a fun situation here,” said Andres Asion.
Asion wasn’t as upset about his flat tire. It’s the road that bothers him.
“The fear is, does it drop down even more and then get somebody hurt?” said Asion. “I really didn’t realize when I went over until I parked and I walked over, and I realized the highway was kind of crumbling apart in this section.”
He was driving south on I-95 on Tuesday and got off on exit 2A, Biscayne Boulevard, when the incident occurred.
“As soon as I went over that, ‘Pa’ the tire exploded. Right when I went over the hole, the dashboard came on and said, ‘Right front tire flat. Pull over,'” said Asion.
So he did.
“I can’t believe this I-95 ramp is falling apart like this,” said Asion.
He immediately called for help.
“FHP sent a trooper. The guy said, ‘Where’s the pothole?’ and he said, ‘There’s no pothole in this section,’ and then when I walked over and showed him, he goes, ‘Damn, that’s bad,'” said Asion. “He goes, ‘I’ve never seen that.'”
7News reached out to the Department of Transportation about the road.
FDOT said that they immediately called their maintenance team to investigate. Officials added that safety is number one, and they want people to contact them about issues just like this one.
“If there was a motorcycle going through there, I think it would have been a lot more dangerous for a motorcycle to have an accident going over that than, obviously, a car,” said Asion. “I can’t believe this I-95 ramp is falling apart like this.”
Crews studied the site, and on Wednesday they repaired the potholes and filled them with asphalt.
Asion said this was all he wanted.
“It’s awesome. I actually was driving right down to work again, and I’m pleasantly surprised that, thank you, Channel 7, they made it happen,” he said. “It takes initiative. It’s a pain in the butt to actually go through this process and stop and make the phone call and do the police report and call FDOT, but by doing so, you help so many other people behind you.”
FDOT said, if a car is damaged by a pothole, drivers can file a claim and potentially get reimbursed by whoever has jurisdiction over that roadway.
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