Driver rescued from giant hole after NC road washes out
DURHAM -- A man was rescued from his SUV Sunday night after a huge hole opened up on 3100-block of Glenn Road during a heavy rain storm.
It happened around 10:20 p.m. about a quarter of a mile from E. Club Boulevard, near Bundy Avenue.
When State Highway Patrol troopers arrived at the scene, they found a black SUV that had overturned into a stream after it was washed away as it tried to cross the roadway where the sinkhole opened up.
It was raining and dark and the driver of the 2007 Tahoe, 35-year-old Robert Robert, got trapped in the creek below the road.
His wife, Valire, told ABC11 her husband was driving from their house to the store to get headache medicine when the accident happened.
Crews were able to rescue Robert, but his wife says his left eye is now swollen shut and he has a broken ankle and some scratches. She said the doctor told them Robert could have permanent vision blurring.
"A current kind of took him in the truck and he couldn't open the door so he had to bang the glass to get out because I guess the doors froze up on him and I guess people who were coming by saw him," Valire said. "He grabbed onto a tree. Total miracle. It could have been totally worse, totally worse. I thank God that he's here."
Several other vehicles were damaged due to the gaping hole, which authorities described as being between 15 - 20 feet deep.
"It's like a movie," Valire said. "I just didn't expect to see that.
Officials says the rain fell too fast in a short period of time and a pipe under the road couldn't handle it.
It will take a month to a month and a half to repair the road. It will be closed during that time. Drivers can take a detour to Interstate 85.
WATCH: Flooding in Durham due to storms.
