Sinkhole Nearly Swallows Truck Along Figueroa In South LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A sinkhole opened up by hours of gushing water from a broken water main swallowed a truck overnight.
The driver, who was not hurt, says he was driving north in the 9600 block of Figueroa Boulevard on his way home when his truck went into the hole all of a sudden. He said he had seen the water gushing out of the ground, but not the hole.
A witness says the sinkhole was hard to see for anyone driving on the street.
"This truck didn't have no choice but go in this lane, but you actually couldn't see the sinkhole when you're going down the street unless you're just looking," the unnamed man said. "So that's how he found himself inside the sinkhole."
Neighbors say the water had been gushing from the 95-year-old pipe for several hours before the water was shut off. Nine customers are affected by the cut in service.
The truck has since been pulled out of the hole and, incredibly, was driven home.
LADWP crews are on the scene. Figueroa is closed at Colden Avenue, according to the LAPD. Crews say they hope to have the hole patched up and the street repaved by 4 p.m.