Garbage Truck Gets Stuck In Sinkhole In Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A garbage truck ran into some trouble Tuesday morning in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

The pavement at a strip mall parking lot gave way under the weight of the truck and the vehicle's back wheels got stuck in the giant sinkhole that opened up.

It's not clear what caused the roadway to collapse.

The parking lot is built above a freight train line and at least one business owner affected by the situation believes the truck should never have been there in the first place, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.

"As far as I know, we have limitations on which trucks are supposed to be here and which ones aren't supposed to," fitness club manager Courtney Pointer-Lewis said. "And this one I do not think was supposed to be here."

Five Star Carting Inc. had no comment.

Engineers from the Department of Buildings, Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Atlantic Rail are on the scene.

"The Department of Buildings because it's over a train structure, are asking to have a professional engineer and a master rigger come by," Dave DeWitt, New York Crane, said.

A crane needed to lift the garbage truck out, but the 64,000-lbs question, whether the truck is too heavy for the parking lot, was not readily answered.

"That would be up to the lawyers to decide," DeWitt said.

Only the 7-11 closed on Tuesday, while traffic for two other businesses was affected by the closure of a parking lot mired in concerns of collapse.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.