CASPER, Wyo. — A pizza delivery driver was unharmed Wednesday evening after his vehicle ended up nose-first in 2 to 3 feet of water in a massive pothole on Bonnie Brae Street, Casper Fire-EMS Engineer Dane Andersen confirmed to Oil City News.
The pothole was discussed only the day before by county officials and area residents at the regular county commission meeting, where it was described as “a bog” and “a huge hole of water.”
Andersen said the call came in as a water rescue at 5:08 p.m. Water had flooded into the footwell, and the driver may have been unsure it was safe to exit. Crews arrived and helped him out with no further complications.
“You think you’ve seen everything,” Andersen said.
The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office would extricate the vehicle, Andersen said.
Andersen estimated the pothole at about 25 feet in diameter, or a “Pothole Of Unusual Size” for “Princess Bride” fans.
Natrona County Road and Bridge Superintendent Mike Haigler, meanwhile, said at the meeting that the hole was about 3–4 feet deep and 50 feet by 50 feet.
“It’s really bad,” Haigler said. “It’s more like a bog out there.”
Area residents told the county commission on Tuesday that the condition of the pothole was impacting vital services, including mail and ambulance.
“We had a guy who needed an ambulance … and the ambulance couldn’t even get to his house,” Bonnie Brae resident Mark Stewart said. “They had to turn around and go around the block. … Literally, somebody could die.”
Haigler said that the road is a subdivision road and not the responsibility of either the county or the city. In many subdivisions, he said, the members of the subdivision share the cost of upkeep. However, in many subdivisions where road maintenance was never ironed out, conditions have fallen into disrepair.
Commissioner Steve Freel said he plans on meeting with City of Casper officials and figuring out a course of action to repair the road.
