The M Street Pot Hole, Or Sink Hole, That Walloped My Car

THIS TEMPORARILY PATCHED HOLE WAS GAPING OPEN & DEEP WHEN MY CAR HIT IT ON WEDNESDAY

Wednesday evening, driving home from work in the rain and the dark, rolling in the crowd of rush hour traffic, my car suddenly hit a very deep hole. The location was M Street at 23rd. I didn't see it coming, focusing instead on the cars and buses around me. It jarred me and jolted my car. It didn't feel lake any routine pot hole. The fact I could still roll forward was surprising, as various warning lights started to flash on the dashboard, one of them signaling the tires were in distress. 

SAME HOLE, SHOT WITH THE FLASH ON. NOTICE ALL THE PATCHING.

I didn't want to come to a stop on crowded M Street. The car was driving oddly, but it could roll - slowly - and I hoped I could make it to the Georgetown Shell or Exxon. As I got near my house, though, I realized the car couldn't make it. I pulled over. The tire was flat. Hopeless. Some young men, friends of my son, and my son, put on the spare in the dark and rain. I drove to the Exxon to get some air in the spare. The attendant there also examined my dead tire, noting that the force of impact had ripped it open. It could not be repaired. He also noted the front bumper was cracked. 

I reported the incident to AAA, to 311 and to Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans. I have subsequently learned it was probably not a pot hole but instead a sink hole caused by DC Water. It's being investigated. That makes a lot more sense. Any DC driver is accustomed to driving over potholes, some of them fierce, but this was worse than that. I'm lucky it didn't cause a more devastating accident, like stopping my car suddenly with a truck on my rear. 

Nonetheless, very expensive repairs, in the hundreds of dollars. Watch out out there.