Pothole problem sends drivers to repair shops

Problems caused by a pothole on the Wantagh Highway sent many drivers to repair shops Sunday.

A bent wheel sat in Thomas Bussi's driveway Sunday waiting to be fixed. Bussi says the mangled metal and busted tire was all because of a huge pothole on the Wantagh Parkway around 8 p.m. Sunday, and he wasn't the only one who hit it.

"I pulled over and at that point there were six or eight cars near me that had already pulled off the side of the road for the same thing,” he says.

The pothole has since been filled, but there were a lot of tire tracks on the side of the Wantagh Parkway, as well as a disabled car.

News 12 headed over to Tire Discount Tire Pros in Levittown and found a waiting room filled with people and very busy mechanics.

Steven Schum, of Tire Discount Tire Pros, says there were six people that came in Sunday with either bent wheels or bubbles or blowouts on tires from hitting the Wantagh Parkway pothole.

One of them, Altice employee Katie Campbell, says she was on the way to a baby shower when she hit the crater.

"It was like the street devoured me. It was like huge, huge noise. I didn't know what happened. All the lights came on in my car,” she says.

Now with a bent wheel and $125 bill, the Levittown resident says the road conditions Saturday night were a safety issue and should have been addressed before all of the damage was done.

A state DOT spokesperson tells News 12 crews have been actively pursuing potholes this season.