Large sinkhole opens up, swallows car
Raw video: News chopper hovers over huge hole with automobile inside
A sinkhole opened up on a downtown St. Louis street on Thursday morning and swallowed a car whole while its owner got a workout in a nearby gym.
Fox 2 news reports that the incident happened around 6:30 a.m. near 6th Avenue and Locust St. near the America's Center.
Jordan Westerberg told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch he and his fiance had snagged the primo spot near their YMCA at around 6:15 a.m., and when they returned at 7 a.m. they saw a group of people where they left the Toyota Camry, but no car.
SAN FRANCISO SINKHOLE SWALLOWS TRUCK
At first they figured it had been towed, discovered the gaping hole taking up half the strreet when they got closer.
"I was a little shaky," Westerberg told Fox 2. "It was crazy. I'm just glad we weren't inside."
The cause of the sinkhole has yet to be determined. There was a broken water main next to the car, but a St. Louis Water Division representative said he didn't know if the main was the cause, or if the car broke the main when it fell, according to the Post-Dispatch.
Westerberg's damaged car was removed by 9 a.m. He said that he hopes the city or whoever is deemed responsible for the hole will pay for repairs.