A local woman says a pothole in downtown Kingston caused nearly $1,000 worth of damage to her small car on Wednesday.
Shelley Kingston said the impact from the pothole, which has now been filled, was so bad her Fiat had to be towed from the scene.
“I was scared..very upset, right away I knew there was something happening to my car,” Kingston said. “I’m so low to the ground in this Fiat and it’s a tiny car and it just dropped into this hole.”
Kingston said she was in bumper to bumper noon hour traffic and was not speeding when her car hit the pothole on Ontario Street at Queen Street. She said just the tires and the tow have cost her almost $1,000 so far and she’s waiting to see if any more damage was done.
“My steering wheel went to the left. I knew there had been some damage done. When I got pulled over safely I realized I had two flat tires on the driver’s side of my car,” she said.
Kingston submitted a claim with the city to try recover the cost of the damage, however Thursday she learned that her claim was denied.
In a letter, the city said, “potholes are not an unusual roadway hazards and motorists must use caution and operate their motor vehicles with prudence while keeping a proper lookout for potholes or other hazards. As the City of Kingston complies with their statutory obligations in respect to maintenance of this roadway, we must deny this claim for damages.”
Kingston said that if she wasn’t successful with her damage claim to the city she’d be on the hook to pay a $500 deductible to her insurance company.
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