Car Falls Into Sinkhole On NW Side
CHICAGO (STMW) - A motorist in his 30s was coherent and in good condition after the Acura he was driving plunged into a sinkhole and flipped upside down on the Northwest Side Saturday morning.
The "5-corner" intersection where it happened will be closed until further notice, according to Jefferson Park District police Lt. Robert Kohnen.
At 5:47 a.m. the man was the lone occupant of a 2003 Acura when the car drove into a sinkhole at the intersection of Foster and Elston and LaPorte avenues, according to Jefferson Park District police Lt. Robert Kohnen.
The car was "upside down in the hole,'' the lieutenant said. A large water main also broke during the incident.
"Water was spewing from the main into the hole,'' Kohnen said.
The driver was able to somehow get out by himself and paramedics from Fire Dept. ambulance No. 47 took him to Swedish Covenant Hospital where he was sitting up and able to talk. He is in good condition, said Kohnen.
Streets & Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne was on the scene as well at the city's Dept. of Water, said Kohnen.
As of 9:15 a.m. barricades were being erected around the hole. It was not known immediately if the Acura was still in the hole, the lieutenant said.
No citations are expected and it was not known why the road collapsed.
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