Skip navigation
presented by 

Sinkhole swallows up SUV in New York street

Shocked driver escapes serious injury; vehicle rested on gas main

The SUV rests in the Brooklyn street sinkhole.
WNBC-TV
Video: Life  
Nevada casino goes up in flames
May 14: A fire engulfs a vacant casino near Las Vegas. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

  Stand and be counted
Gut Check America

What keeps you up at night? Gut Check America wants you to tell us what really matters to our country. Click here to learn more and get involved.

  Photo features  
  More
Image: A young boy plays in Lake Malawi
Reuters
  The Week in Pictures
Natural disasters devastate parts of Myanmar and China, while natural – and human – wonders in Chile and Switzerland strike awe.
Image: Yves Rossy
AP
PhotoBlog
View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.
updated 12:32 p.m. ET March 27, 2006

NEW YORK - A city street collapsed under a sport utility vehicle early Monday, leaving the vehicle nose down into a deep sinkhole that officials said was caused by a water main break.

The driver of the SUV escaped without serious injures but was taken to a hospital for treatment of shock, said Fire Department spokesman Brian Conlon.

The vehicle was barely visible from street level inside the 12-foot-wide hole, partially in a pedestrian crosswalk in Brooklyn. It was resting atop a gas main and crews had to wait for the gas to be turned off before removing it, said Ian Michaels, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement

Damage to the street was probably more extensive than was visible, since water leaking from the 8-inch main could have been washing away soil beneath the street for days, Michaels said.

“It’s unlikely that the only part of the roadway that was damaged was that car-shaped hole,” he said.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rate this story LowHigh
 • View Top Rated stories

Sponsored links

Resource guide

Search Jobs

Find your next car

Find Your Dream Home

Find a business to start

$7 trades, no fee IRAs