A giant sinkhole that completely cuts off a two-lane road in San Joaquin, Calif., is now engulfing three separate cars, despite the hole being clearly marked, according to officials.
The sinkhole occurred earlier this month when the California Highway Patrol said the road had eroded due to damage to a retaining pond. A January 17 video shows water seeping from the road and removing material from under the pavement.
But just hours after highway patrols posted about the dangerous situation and installed ‘no traffic’ and ‘flooded’ signs nearby, a car drove through the flooded area of Kasson Road. A photo of the first accident shows the car leaning as it begins to fall off the road.
The next day, the road completely collapsed, officials said on Facebook, saying people shouldn’t try to drive around the barricades that had been set up and warning that the site would be “closed for an extended period of time.”
Despite constant warnings of the closure and a huge hole in the driveway about a car wide, a second vehicle ended up in the collapsed driveway about a week later.
“This is not real!” the California Highway Patrol posted a photo of the incident on Facebook. “We are speechless. If there were any signs or barriers that could have prevented this.”
And even law enforcement seemed surprised that “it happened again” on Saturday, despite the concrete barriers that had been in place since the original collapse.
This time, a four-door pickup truck fell into a pit with its front end completely crushed and airbags deployed. Police said the driver of the vehicle had been issued a summons for the incident.
A highway patrolman said, “This is not a hoax. “This was 100% preventable. No excuses. Signs are clearly visible and unobstructed.”
Netomie Cardoza, who lives at the San Joaquin River Club next door to the sinkhole site, said she heard “this loud crunch” when the incident happened.
“We looked out the window and said, ‘Hmm, that’s something else,'” Cardoza said. CBS Sacramento“I don’t know. It’s ridiculous because it was a big huge barrier and they were getting around it.”
The sinkhole is expected to be fixed in the coming weeks, according to CBS Sacramento.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/third-car-in-2-weeks-falls-into-san-joaquin-california-sinkhole-marked-by-road-closed-sign/ Third car in two weeks falls into California sinkhole marked with ‘no traffic’ sign: ‘You can’t do this’