Ohio Sinkhole Swallows Woman's Car

[DiamondSmiles]

Authorities say that the woman in the car got out safely without any injuries.

A sinkhole swallowed a car with a woman inside on Wednesday in Toledo, Ohio, police said.

Pamela Knox, 60, was driving around noon when she noticed the car ahead of her was sinking but had managed to make it over a collapsing sinkhole, officials said.

Police Sergeant Joe Heffernan, told. The Toledo Blade, that Knox couldn’t also escape the developing hole when she drove over it.

Knox was eventually able to climb out with the help of a ladder and was not hurt but rattled, said Heffernan. She was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution, he said.

According to, The Toledo Blade, the car was removed from the gaping hole around 4:00 p.m. and the next step will be to repair the street, which could take four to five days.

"I'm just happy that as I understand, she walked herself out, [of the hole]," Mr. Bell said. "We had a lot of rain lately and something must have washed out under the road," Toledo Mayor Mike Bell, told, The Blade.

A city spokesman said the hole was a result of collapsed sanitary and storm sewers and estimated to be 10 feet deep.

**Woman Rescued From Sinkhole Talks With 13ABC**

Updated: Jul 03, 2013 11:54 PM EDT

http://www.13abc.com/story/22758507/...lks-with-13abc

Toledo Police are warning drivers to avoid the intersection of Bancroft Street and Detroit Avenue due to a large sinkhole. Dispatchers tell 13abc a vehicle was, "swallowed," by the sinkhole. Authorities

A woman was rescued after her car was swallowed by a 20-foot deep sinkhole on a busy Toledo street Wednesday afternoon.Emergency crews made it to Bancroft and Detroit around 12:30 Wednesday afternoon. When they got there, they found a 15-foot sinkhole with a car inside. Pamela Knox was inside that car, but she climbed out of the hole without a scratch and with an even stronger sense of faith.

"It was just hard to believe that this was actually happening to me," says Knox, while sitting with her husband Kenny. "As the car was falling, I just kept calling on the name of Jesus. I just kept saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."

City officials blame the hole on the collapse of an outdated combined brick sewer, that was built back in the late 1800's. They believe it broke and washed the ground away, leaving the concrete weak and more vulnerable to split.

A city spokesperson says a contractor is already working to replace the old sewer, and eventually repair the hole.

"Water started pouring into the back of the car and started filling up the back seat," says Knox. Her car broke a water main while it was sinking into the ground. As of Wednesday night, the intersection was still closed off.

"I had to remain calm so I wouldn't freak out," she comments.

Pamela's husband of 26 years, Kenny Knox, stood on the sidelines watching every move, and hoping that his wife would make it out alive.

"There could have been other cars behind her, and it could have been a pile up," he tells 13abc. "I call it a miracle."

Knox can't remember how long she was stuck inside the hole, but credits the brave firefighters for keeping her calm. They were able to get a ladder in just in time, before more debris fell on her car.

"They were my guardian angels that came to rescue me, I thank God for each and every one of them."

Pamela says she walked away a stronger woman, with more faith and gratitude to God.

"Thankfulness, just thankfulness," Knox says. "Thankful that I am a child of God."

[Megamel29]

Wow! Can you imagine? She is lucky she got out. There are so many sink hole stories lately.

[calisphere]

That was a close call.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Megamel29

Wow! Can you imagine? She is lucky she got out. There are so many sink hole stories lately.

I find it weird that we hear of one, then another and another, and so on...

What's with that

And, it's with anything! School bus crashes were big around here the last two months of regular school.

[Darkest Angel]

And her husband stood on the sidelines watching every move...

What a nice helpful concerned husband.

[ices]

Originally Posted by darkest angel

And her husband stood on the sidelines watching every move...

What a nice helpful concerned husband.

The EMTs were there and he is an untrained civilian.

I bet he would sue if he were to get injured in a fall or from the expanding sink hole.

[PsychodelicTurtle]

I wonder what causes sinkholes? Well, I'm off to find out!

[Gaydolf Shitler]

That's where I'm from