ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Come down Villa Dorado Drive in St. Louis County and you'll see so many signs of the dangers ahead.
A huge construction project splits the road in half with heavy machinery cutting a path through the middle.
But six months ago, there was a different kind of danger. It was one Brandon Cousins didn't see driving through the neighborhood on his way home.
"It felt like I was hitting a brick wall," Cousins said. "I really thought that I hit into something, but I just drove over it."
What Brandon Cousins actually hit was a massive hole causing almost $1,700 worth of damage to his car.
When he reported what he thought was a weather-related pothole to the transportation department, they told him it was instead a man-made problem.
They told him a Spire subcontractor, Crossroads Construction from Wentzville, was permitted for work in June 2021.
St. Louis County Department of Transportation's David Wrone told 5 On Your Side that the utility project would have required Squire or and contractor to then put a permanent fix on the road.
Cousins says Crossroads initially agreed to reimburse him, even sending an email in February to say they were contacting a lawyer to draft an agreement for payment.
But at the end of May, still no money.
When 5 On Your Side reached out, they said told us almost the same thing: they were reaching out to an attorney and drafting paperwork for payment.
But Cousins is only cautiously optimistic.
"They have been 'going to pay me' for several months and so we'll see. I would like for that to happen, and I would appreciate it. But we'll see," he said.
Now Cousins waits, wondering how many others may have paid for their own damage after running into the same problem as him.
Wrone says the county doesn't have any records of another accident, but they do urge residents to report issues to their Service Request Number at 314-615-8538.