Multiple tires fall victim to same pothole on 146
By Alana Cerrone
@Alana_Cerrone
NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WLNE) – In a widely-shared Facebook video, a North Smithfield man sits and watches as car after car hits the same pothole on 146 North.
One of those cars was probably Jon Chabot. He was on his way to his in-laws that night when he hit it.
"I heard one of the loudest bangs I ever heard while driving on the highway."
He immediately pulled into the nearest parking lot, but he wasn’t alone.
“There were a few other people in there already…all hit the same pothole. There was about five of us by the end of the night in there."
He also noticed other cars in the breakdown lane nearby.
In fact, a tire shop in Woonsocket has seen almost a dozen victims of that same pothole.
It was patched up last night, but of course it’s too late for some drivers, like Chabot. But for him, it’s not all bad news.
"The state’s going to reimburse up to $300 for repairs and the cost of the tire."
If you notify the state within a week of hitting a pothole, you could get up to $300 back, something Conor O’Hara says he wishes he had done when he got a flat a couple weeks ago. Usually, he tries to avoid potholes at all costs.
"I got a lane violation in Cumberland because I was going around a pothole actually."
For information on filing for reimbursement, visit RIDOT’s website.
(C) WLNE-TV 2018
