Sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident occurred when a sinkhole opened up in a Pittsburgh-area parking lot and swallowed a woman's car. The woman was hospitalized Tuesday after the sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident, said officials.
According to WPXI television, the sinkhole opened up around 4:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a tanning salon. Allegheny County Police dispatcher said the woman was backing out of a parking space when her car suddenly sank, apparently already swallowed by the sinkhole.
Reuters reports local media photos of the sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident showed a white sedan falling into the hole rear first.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the woman whose car was swallowed is 49-year-old Natalie Huddleston. Fortunately, she managed to escape through the window of her car on McKnight Road in front of Hollywood Tans before the vehicle was submerged.
When the salon owner saw the sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident, the Inquisitr said she ran outside to help Huddleston out, after which both she and Huddleston watched the car sink slowly.
According to Reuters, news footage of the sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident showed the sinkhole to be about three times the width of a car. It was apparently filled with water.
Though the car had been submerged, it was eventually pulled out by Tuesday.
There have also been reports that the smell of gas was filled the air after the incident. All neighboring business near the sinkhole had to be evacuated.
According to WPXI television, Huddleston is now listed in good condition after visiting the hospital.
Huddleston spoke with KDKA regarding the sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident.
She shared, 'I got in the car, I backed up, I felt a thunk, and all of a sudden I was tilted and I felt movement, I was swaying, I kept drifting back and realized I was stuck in this hole.'
She continued, 'I'm in shock, this is not happening, my car is gone, I'm stuck here, how am I going to get out of work.'
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, sinkholes form as rock below the earth's surface dissolves through groundwater.
Work crews believe the sinkhole car Pennsylvania to have been caused by a 48-to-60-inch storm drain runoff pipe which collapsed during heavy rains.
According to the Inquisitr, another sinkhole appeared on the same day. The Gazette reports that the sinkhole formed when a "small bridge of asphalt and earth between the holes dissolved." The sinkhole was reportedly nearly 40 feet long and 10 feet wide, with a depth undetermined since it was filled with water.
By Wednesday, crews began cleaning up after the sinkhole car Pennsylvania. WPXI television reports that a contractor arrived and started marking the right lane of McKnight Road, which is closest to the hole.
Detective Brian Kohlhepp of Ross police said developers originally built pipes to contain the water, but that he had never seen a sinkhole happen with a deteriorating stormwater pipe.
Kohlhepp added that township had already been discussing with property owners regarding the deteriorating pipes.
Kohlhepp said, 'It's a private property issue, not government-maintained.'
Sinkhole car Pennsylvania incident on Tuesday might have been a shocking one, but The Inquisitr had reported previously that sinkholes are becoming quite common, appearing all over the U.S. Some have also become an attraction such as the large hole at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. That sinkhole swallowed eight cars when it appeared.
Below are videos of the sinkhole which swallowed a woman's car in Pennsylvania.
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