TULSA, Okla. — A man who hit the sinkhole on Riverside Drive and 21st Street on February 6 is frustrated after being denied compensation from the city for his totaled truck.
At the time, the City of Tulsa told us a few cars hit what they thought was a pothole but turned out to be a sinkhole.
One of those drivers reached out to 2 News upset and feeling helpless after his truck was damaged.
"It was like a bomb going off underneath my truck," Mark Cassel explained.
It was a normal Monday morning around 6 o'clock.
Mark Cassel was driving to work going south on Riverside approaching 21st Street.
He noticed a car with its hazards on parked on the side of the road. The next thing he knew, he hit a sinkhole.
"I then proceeded to try to go forward and get off the road to check the damage. I didn't go much further and my truck stopped," he said.
Cassel told 2 News fluids were coming out from under the truck and his wheels and tires were damaged too.
When he looked back to see what he drove over, he was stunned, not just by what he saw, but by how big the hole was.
"I couldn't believe I didn't do in it," Cassel said.
Now his family is struggling financially because insurance totaled his truck and he had to buy a new one.
Plus, he said his truck had sentimental value.
"It belonged to my stepdad and it was a vehicle that they had owed since it was brand new," he said "I always wanted it and I told them if they ever sold it I wanted to buy it. A month before I bought it my stepfather passed away."
He filed a Tort claim with the City of Tulsa in April asking for $30,000.
This month he received a letter of denial.
The letter says in part:
"The city was not aware of, and had not received notification of, any problem or improper condition at this location prior to the date and time of the claimant's accident."
"Well nobody knew about it," Cassel said. "I mean this is just something that happens, but you did patch over the concrete there so you knew something was going on. So to say you didn't know nothing, well I don't know if that's true or not."
In 2 News video of the sinkhole it does appear there was a previous patch.
2 News reached out to the city to understand the reason for denying the claim as well as asking about previous issues in that spot.
We received a message stating the city refrains from commenting on legal matters.
In the end, Cassel feels what he's asking from the city isn't much.
"I'm not asking for someone to set me up for life. I'm asking for cost to replace," he said.
To this day, Cassel said he is cautious and chooses not to drive over that spot where the sinkhole was located despite it being fixed.
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