Bystander Rescues Driver After Vehicle Disappears Into Sinkhole

A car driving down Northwest 10th Street ran over a broken water line and created a sinkhole in northwest Oklahoma City.

“I never thought there would be a sinkhole around here at all,” a resident who lives near the street said. 

Many residents could not believe what they were seeing. The Northwest 10th Street near North County Line Road intersection has been closed after the sinkhole was created.

“Line attendance is here working on a 16-inch water line that was broken, and apparently, the broken water line created a sinkhole underneath 10th Street,” OKCFD District Chief David Meyer said.

A person driving eastbound on 10th Street hit the broken line when “it caved in,” according to Meyer.

“The nose of her car sunk to the bottom,” Meyer said.

The driver of the car was able to make it out without any injuries thanks to the help of a bystander.

“You could see the back of the car a little when I got here the first time. I thought they got it out to tell you the truth,” the bystander said. 

A neighbor was able to see the back of the car when it went into the sinkhole, but the car has since disappeared.

“You can see when you look at 10th Street, there is a dip in the pavement on the center line and far divider line, all the way over to this other storm drain. So we feel confident we have a sinkhole that runs the entire way across 10th Street,” Meyer said.

As of now, Northwest 10th Street will remain closed in both directions.

 “City water quality is responding, so they can monitor the water quality from the vehicle being in there,” Meyer said.

Authorities will continue their search for the vehicle.