Toledo Sinkhole Update: Ohio Sinkhole Swallows Car, Woman Driver Safely Rescued

An unusual incident happened on Wednesday after a sinkhole in Ohio swallowed a car, leaving the victim trapped for several minutes.

A 60-year-old woman, identified as Pamela Knox, was driving southbound on North Detroit Avenue when she and her car fell into a large 10-foot deep sinkhole on Bancroft Street.

Police officials confirmed that Knox was trapped in the large sinkhole for several minutes before she climbed herself out of the sinkhole using the ladder provided by rescuers. According to reports, Knox did not sustain any serious injury, but was immediately taken to the hospital for precautionary measures.

Fox Sports reported:

Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan says a water main break beneath the road may have caused the sinkhole Wednesday. The hole is estimated to be at least 10 feet deep.  Police say driver Pamela Knox didn't appear hurt but was shaken up and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

In an interview with the Toledo Blade, Heffernan added that Knox saw the vehicle in front of her slipping into the hole, but the driver of the car managed to dodge and drive beyond it. Knox, on the other hand, failed to avoid the hole, leading to the nasty accident.

"She saw the car in front of her starting to go into the hole, and it managed to drive on, but she couldn't," Heffernan said.

City Mayor Mike Bell and his officials quickly responded to the incident and felt a sigh of relief after learning that the driver managed to get out of the hole by herself. He also reasoned out that frequent rain might have caused the collapse of the sanitary and storm sewers in the area.

"I'm just happy that as I understand, she walked herself out of the hole. We had a lot of rain lately and something must have washed out under the road," Bell said.

Bell also added that they are still lucky because the incident happened early in the day, noting that there could have been more damages had the incident happened during heavy traffic hours.

The damaged road is expected to be repaired with the next five days, city officials said.