Pothole causes spectacular accident in Kirkland

Posted By: Richard Deschamps · 3/11/2013 3:33:00 PM

Spring is almost here, but it appears pothole season is well underway.

And one driver is telling of being flipped over as he was trying to get off a highway in Kirkland last Friday.

St. Lazare resident Matthew Brown says he was getting off an off-ramp eastbound highway 40 at the Morgan exit, when he encountered a pothole that was about 2 metres long and 2-and-a-half metres wide. It was partly covered by water.

"From afar, you can't really tell that it's there," Brown says. "But as you get to about 15 feet in front of it, then you can really see the outline of it."

At the time, he had slowed down to about 80 kilometres an hour before hitting the brakes.

He says he then was thrown up into the air, landing on his nose in a snowbank on the driver's side, went airborne again, and then landed on the side of the road, on its roof.

He walked away from the accident uninjured, and then took pictures of the car, the skidmarks on the road, and the giant pothole itself.

And then, he contacted the town of Kirkland, which has indicated it's investigating the situation.

Photos: Matthew Brown

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  1. Kornelia posted on 03/11/2013 03:54 PM
    Unfortunately we hit a hole like this downtown Montreal 2 weeks ago. There were cars before and after us, having the same damaged wheals... Afterwords we heard that the city is NOT responsible for the condition of the roads. We had to pay for everything knowing that won't be any reimbursement. Unbelievable that this is the case, after paying so high taxes for roads.
  2. Phil posted on 03/11/2013 04:04 PM
    He certainly got some distance with that flip. I wonder if someone good with physics could calculate the estimated speed of the vehicle based on how far he went.
  3. Bing posted on 03/11/2013 04:26 PM
    50km/h Yeah right!!
    1. Enzo posted on 03/12/2013 04:58 PM
      @Bing Read the story a little more carefully. It says 80 km/h not 50. Not an entirely unreasonable speed when one is just getting off a highway. when approaching a pothold you are better off not touching the brakes, so as to minimize damage
  4. Peter Delaney posted on 03/11/2013 04:59 PM
    I had seen the car in the snowbank and lying on it's roof around 2:30 Friday afternoon with alot of emergency vichicles near it and wondered what had happened. I often use the exit and now I will take extra precautions. I'm glad that Mr Brown wasn't seriously hurt or even killed.I wonder if the Kirkland authorities have since repaired the crater????????
  5. Tracey Moore posted on 03/11/2013 06:02 PM
    I took this exit today and was wondering why both CBC and CTV camera crews were there - wanting to capture the next car flip? A pothole warning would have been more appreciated!
  6. Anon posted on 03/12/2013 12:10 AM
    I don't know about this? This looks like it could have been avoided. Speed was definitely a factor. The velocity and forces required to flip a vehicle are considerable. The driver isn't telling the whole story here.
  7. Norma posted on 03/12/2013 06:57 AM
    After hearing this story yesterday, Monday, afternoon on CJAD, I went out looking for this pothole. The story sounded like it was the Morgan exit. Actuality I found it just at the mouth of the Chemin Ste-Marie exit, coming from the TCan East bound.

    IT LOOKED JUST AS BAD AT 6PM MONDAY, with less snow around but still completely covered in water, except for its edges. I took pictures of it around 6pm when I found it. Still no warning about it then except for 2 short red cones on each edge of the lane. Nothing saying in words to watch out, and no way to know why the cones are there until one spots the pothole about 20 feet away from it. I swerved to avoid hitting it as did several other drivers after me, but some slowed down and drove right over it. I could tell it isn't that deep. I'd certainly not want to take a chance after seeing its size. Luckily I slowed down enough to be able to avoid it completely, but then I knew that there could be a pothole there.

    I think going 80 clicks in an exit is much too fast, when the pavement isn't clear and good, especially with all the potholes we have to endure these days. I often have to zigzag on a stretch of road to avoid hitting potholes.

    I also think the city is recklessly endangering drivers and passengers by not finding these hazards themselves and immediately taking action to repair or divert traffic.

    WHERE ARE OUR TAX DOLLARS GOING ?????

    WHY AREN'T WE IN THE STREETS PROTESTING ABOUT JUST THE POOR STATE OF MOST ALL OUR ROADS?

    If you want to see a particularly bad city road, go check Cote-Vertu, going East from Cavendish. It's time to start taking many more photos and posting them online with dates for all to have access to, maybe on CJAD. This way drivers that end up with car damage can show the proof of irresponsible road maintenance on the part of the city that lawyer Kristopher Dimakos explained on CJAD last week is needed to successfully file a claim.

    Please CJAD, interview each borough's mayor or city engineer in the Montreal area and ask them 2 short questions on air:
    1- Why are there so many road damages this year, increasing each year for the last several ones? AND
    2- why are they not being repaired promptly?
    I'd like to hear all of their answers and so would others if you post the interview segment, I'm sure
  8. Jonathan posted on 03/12/2013 10:55 AM
    The government can only handle so many important issues at once. Currently the task of fighting off the rise of bilingualism in Montreal is obviously more important than road safety....
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