DURHAM, N.C. (NBC) — A man in North Carolina was injured after accidentally driving into a sinkhole.
Robert Belcher suffered from a broken ankle, his eye swollen shut and his entire body being bruised and battered.
“I feel horrible,” said Belcher.
“I’ve never felt this bad in my whole life,” he added.
Belcher was driving late at night with heavy rain when he saw water on the road and assumed it was just a puddle.
“It was no puddle but I didn’t know that until I was in it,” he said.
Belcher slowed down to cross it. “My truck had already went down and started flipping,” said Belcher.
Javier Rosales saw Belcher’s accident because he’d also hit the hole. “But then when I went to stop it was too late,” said Rosales.
Rosales blew out his tires and his axle flew out.
Moments later Rosales watched Belcher hit the same hole he’d encountered, only it had grown in the few minutes between the two accidents. Belcher’s car fell into the sinkhole and was swept away by rushing water. Belcher, who is a father of three, found himself trapped in his SUV.
“I just told God, ‘God don’t let me die like this.'” said Belcher.
Belcher was able to escape by holding onto a tree limb until EMS crews pulled him to safety. While Belcher is still in pain, he said he’s happy to still be here.
“I looked at it like I want to live,” said Belcher. “You know, I got a family,” he added.