PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (WHDH) - A woman described the terrifying moment when the roadway beneath her vehicle gave out as she drove through Portsmouth, Rhode Island on Thursday.
Debbie Furtado says she was on her way to work when the pavement on Fairview Lane buckled while remnants of Ida move through the state.
“It collapsed under me,” she recalled. “I hit that corner and I heard this crash. The whole road fell down under me.”
Her car was left dangling over the collapsed roadway.
“I had to crawl out of the car on the other side, so I opened the door, I couldn’t put it in reverse, so I was shaken up,” she said.
Furtado says she is glad this didn’t happen later in the day.
“I’m grateful it happened then because the bus comes down that road on that side,” she added.
Neighbors told 7NEWS that a drainage system goes under the street.
“The drainage is all on that side of the road, so it looks like everything’s undermined where the drainage is,” one resident said.
Crews worked to remove the crumbled pavement.
Repairs are expected to take some time as the drainage system needs to be rebuilt.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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