‘Worst 10 minutes of my life.’ Woman survives car being swallowed by NJ sinkhole

A 72-inch water main break on Tuesday, Aug. 9, in ne, New Jersey, made Lizette Pagan’s morning commute to work rather challenging.

Not only did the excess water flood the roadway, but the break also caused a massive sinkhole as Pagan was driving. The sinkhole was triggered when soil was eroded from water flowing at 25,000 gallons per minute, NJ.com reported.

Pagan’s car fell through, and images show it nearly completely submerged.

“Today was the worst 10 minutes of my life,” Pagan said in a Facebook post. “Going to work this morning I fell in a sinkhole. I had to think fast to save myself. Water was coming in the car so fast.”

She swam to safety but said in an interview with KTVQ a day later that she is “still in shock.”

“I couldn’t go to sleep last night because I thought I was drowning,” she said. “So, I hope that fear goes away, you know?”

Images from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office show the vehicle was towed out of the sinkhole.

Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said on Wednesday, Aug. 10, the water main had “finally” been shut off after 24 hours. Water pressure was restored to normal on Thursday.

Belleville is about 5 miles north of Newark.

This story was originally published August 11, 2022 at 4:25 PM with the headline "‘Worst 10 minutes of my life.’ Woman survives car being swallowed by NJ sinkhole."