A man was rescued from a sinkhole in Wisconsin after his Cadillac Escalade plummeted into a giant hole in the middle of the road, which was caused by extensive flooding.
Pawlik told the paper he leaned over the edge of the growing sinkhole and helped pull the driver onto solid ground by his belt loop.
The earth under the SUV gave way Thursday evening amid severe storms that dumped as much as eight inches of rain on the area in less than 24 hours, according to WFRV-TV 5.
Pawlik, 46, estimated that the hole was about 20 feet deep. He said the driver, who has not yet been identified, seemed confused and asked, "'What happened? What just happened?'" Police arrived and the driver was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. A call for comment to the Milwaukee police was not immediately returned today.
The sinkhole also devoured a traffic light post, and Pawlick said only its blinking lights were visible from afar. Photos show the black SUV and the yellow traffic light strewn inside the sinkhole as water from what appears to be a sewer pipe rushes into the gorge.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but sinkholes weren't the only problem in Milwaukee on Thursday night, when wild weather wreaked havoc. The torrential downpour flooded homes and streets, and forced General Mitchell International Airport to close until noon today, WBAY 2 reports. Two people were struck by lightning.
Still more rain is on the way for Milwaukee today, and the National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings for the already sodden area.
