ATTLEBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - Emergency crews responded and a driver was taken to a hospital Wednesday after a sinkhole opened following a crash in Attleboro, officials said.
An Attleboro police spokesperson said the incident started on County Street around 10:15 a.m. when a van crashed into a fire hydrant, damaging the hydrant. The spokesperson said the road began to flood and the sinkhole opened.
“The car just kept going down and down and down,” said witness Erin Grant.
Grant lives near the scene of the crash and the resulting sinkhole. Speaking with 7NEWS, she said she saw a massive amount of water coming out of the hydrant after the van crashed into it.
Grant said her daughter jumped into action, getting the van’s driver out of the vehicle while water flowed through the area.
“It was just lots and lots of water,” Grant said. “It was pouring down.”
Attleboro police said the van driver, 86, suffered minor injuries.
City crews soon responded to the scene and worked to make repairs.
The van was pulled out of the sinkhole in a matter of hours and the hole itself was patched up.
Later recalling the incident, Grant said she hopes the driver in this incident is okay.
“He was coming home from visiting his wife at the hospital and he said he just didn’t feel that good and he thinks he blacked out,” she said.
Attleboro police said this crash remained under investigation as of Wednesday afternoon.
While the sinkhole was closed, caution tape remained in place in the area Wednesday night. The damaged fire hydrant will also need to be replaced.
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