Driver stranded after hitting gaping pothole

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - As temperatures dipped from below freezing to well above freezing several times this winter, potholes started forming much quicker - and sooner - than they usually do. 

A large pothole on Plymouth Avenue near Penn Avenue in North Minneapolis has Twin Cities residents questioning how long it will take to get the gaping hole fixed. 

Marybeth Jensen-Hagen couldn’t see the giant pothole Friday night, but she certainly felt it. 

“I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t even see it,” said Jensen-Hagen. “My car just jolted really, really hard.” 

Within seconds, the deep hole that left a large portion of a manhole exposed blew out two of her tires. As a result, she was stranded for nearly three hours. 

“The exposure of the manhole cover is half the circumference of the cover, so I obviously hit the edge of the steel and it blew my tires,” Jensen-Hagen told Fox 9. 

She wasn’t the only victim. 

“And I see another car behind me, and it turns out he also blew out his tire on the same thing,” Jensen-Hagen said. 

Jensen-Hagen filed a complaint with the city, but didn’t realize the size of the pothole until she returned the next day to take pictures. She was also surprised to see an orange traffic cone placed inside the hole. 

“I expected one of those orange barricades, but not this cone,” she said. “I don’t think even when it’s dark it’s going to be good enough—I really don’t.”

Jensen-Hagen said that the orange cone was placed in the pothole after she made a complaint. She hopes the city does more before someone is hurt. 

Fox 9’s cameras rolled as driver, after driver swerved into the lane of oncoming traffic to avoid the massive pit. Jensen-Hagen lives in Plymouth, but will now steer clear of the area in Minneapolis. However, she expects the city to pay up. 

“I seriously expect them to pay for my new tires, I mean I seriously expect them to pay for my new tires,” Jensen-Hagen said.