What began as a typical night of driving folks around has erupted into a financial nightmare for one Lubbock Uber driver. 
 
It was just after midnight on Saturday, November 12 when Lee Larimore was driving around a couple of riders from one apartment complex to another. As he was exiting toward Avenue Q on the Marsha Sharp Freeway, he crashed into a rouge manhole cover. 
 
All of his airbags were deployed, the windshield was cracked and a back tire and rim were destroyed, resulting in more than $18,000 worth of damage. Fortunately, no one was hurt. 
 
“The cover was in the middle of the road and I didn’t see it because it was dark and not well-lit,” said Larimore. 
 
After being without a vehicle for over a week, Larimore had to buy a new car, when he had only owned his previous one for a few months.
 
“So, I’ve had two cars that I’ve paid for in less than three months.”
 
Feeling out of pocket, Larimore is thankful that Uber is covering some of the cost, but feels as though more should have be done to help him out for hitting a loose cover that wasn’t supposed to be there.
 
“If I hit a pothole I wouldn’t be making a big fuss about it, that is a road condition. I get that, I would be frustrated, but I would get over it. This is different, it’s an 80-pound man hole cover that I hit that completely destroyed my car,” said Larimore. 
 
Aubrey Spear, the director of Water Utilities, said based on the location of the loose sewer along the Marsha Sharp Freeway, the issue is directed at TxDOT.
 
Dianah Ascencio, public information officer with TxDOT, says while Larimore followed the TxDOT claim’s process, it was determined that the damage was caused by a road hazard, and therefore not compensable.
 
According to Ascencio, the state of Texas does not allow for the expenditure of state funds for property damage due to the conditions of the roadway. 
 
Larimore says he’s reached out to both Mayor Dan Pope and Congressman-elect Jodey Arrington to see what else can be done to help not only himself out, but anyone else who might be find themselves in a similar situation.