Classic Corvettes Swallowed By Sinkhole

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WWJ) - A sinkhole has damaged eight classic Corvettes that had been on display at the National Corvette Museum.

"We received a call at 5:44 a.m. from our security company alerting us of our motion detectors going off in our Skydome area of the Museum," read a statement from the museum. "Upon arrival it was discovered that a sinkhole had collapsed within the Museum. No one was in or around the Museum at the time."

The sinkhole is sizable.

"It is approximately 25-30 feet deep," said museum director Wendell Strode. "It's 40 feet across."

Strode said two of the eight vehicles are on loan from General Motors, a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR-1 Blue Devil.

The other six vehicles are owned by the museum:

1962 Black Corvette
1984 PPG Pace Car
1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette
1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette
2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette

None of the cars affected were on loan from individuals.

The Skydome exhibit area. where the sinkhole occurred, is a separate structure connected to the main museum. A structural engineer is now on-site to assess the existing damage and stability of the surrounding areas, and determine how best to recover the vehicles.

General Motors, in a statement, saying they are aware of the incident, and willing to assist.

"Obviously we are happy that no one was hurt, and we have had a chance to assess the situation we will do anything we can to help restore the Museum."

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