Pasco County investigating multiple cases of ruined tires on SR 54

TRINITY, Fla. - There’s nothing worse than getting a flat tire on a busy road.

Karen Harrow has had three flats in a matter of months, on her brand new car.

"One was plugged and replaced, and it held pretty well,” said Harrow, who spent $40 one the patch, however, the second one: "That one picked up a nail, and went completely flat.”

From there, she just replaced the rest. She hadn’t heard of anyone having a similar issue along State Road 54, attributing it to bad luck. 

But a quick glance at a Facebook post proves it wasn’t just bad luck. More than 100 commenters sounded off on social media after a Pasco woman asked about nail damage along SR 54. Some shared photos of the trashed tires, pointing the finger at construction in the area.

Harrow says she's now out hundreds of dollars.

"For the plug, it was $40, and the tires, they were $800, and the time. So it's a little expensive and a little inconvenient,” she said.

Though people believe the construction is causing all of their hassles, they're happy to see the growth in the community.

"Pasco County is working to become a premier community,” Harrow said. “So the building is helping us grow. But if there are people who are picking up nails in the tires, I guess we should look at that."

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey told FOX 13, over the phone, she plans to do just that, but it'll be difficult to pinpoint exactly how this happened.

"Was there a truck with a bag of nails that had a hole?” Starkey asked. “I think that's difficult to figure out how this happened. I feel for the people who are getting nails in their tires, so we're going to go out there, and if we see anything, we're going to put a stop to it."

Commissioner Starkey said the county is sending staff from code enforcement to check the construction site at SR 54 and Little Road. They're also sending a crew to sweep the roadways for nails Thursday night.