MELVILLE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- A 10-foot-wide sinkhole opened on the Long Island Expressway on Thursday, swallowing one car and sending other vehicles skidding out of control with tires exploding.
The chaotic scene unfolded shortly after 1 p.m. in the westbound lanes of the LIE at Exit 49 in Melville. Amazingly, no one was seriously injured.
Jeffrey Jimenez said he was driving a Chevy company car when the sinkhole blew his tires and sent the vehicle swerving.
“It looked like it was wet until you got right on it,” he said of the rogue hole. “And my car fell—the front hit the thing.”
“Both tires exploded, the rims pulled back,” he said. “By the grace of God, I was able to get out of there.”
Suffolk County police said the hole’s 8 feet deep and 10 feet wide.Jeffrey Jimenez
A Honda driver behind him was then consumed by the sinkhole.
“I saw him coming behind me, so I was trying to wave him off, but he just got stuck right in there,” Jimenez said.
A big truck was also sent flying during the ordeal. “It was bouncing… I don’t know how he made it out, he kept going,” Jimenez said. “His whole back of the rig was jumping up and down. It was crazy.”
Traffic was backed up for miles. Suffolk County police said the hole’s 8 feet deep and that lane closures are expected to last at least 24 hours as repairs are made.
No one was seriously injured, police said.Jeffrey Jimenez
