A truck crashed into an enormous sinkhole iin California on Tuesday after officials said the driving force ignored road closure signs, the third such incident in two weeks.
Shocking photos showed the ill-fated white pickup truck firmly lodged several feet underground within the sinkhole on Kasson Road in Tracy.
“We will’t make these items up,” the CHP wrote on Facebook alongside the photographs. “This was 100% preventable. There isn’t any excuse. The signs are clear, visible, and unobstructed.”
The motive force, who escaped unharmed, was issued a citation for passing the road closure signs, authorities said.
“‘ROAD CLOSED’ signs and barricades are strategically placed in your safety,” CHP reminded. “DO NOT drive past a road closure. When you come across a road closure, turn around, and find a distinct route.”
Netomie Cardoza, who lives near Kasson Road, told the station CBS Sacramento that she heard “this big crunch sound” when the truck was swallowed by the sinkhole.
“We glance out the window and, ‘Uh-oh, it’s one other,’” she said. “I don’t know. It’s ridiculous since it’s a giant, giant barrier, and so they were going around it.”
Five days earlier, a Volkswagen sedan plunged into the identical chasm after the driving force selected to disregard the warning signs.
“THIS CAN’T BE REAL!” CHP wrote on the time. “We’re confused.”
“If only there have been signs and/or barriers that might have prevented this…,” officials remarked sarcastically.
The sinkhole opened up on Jan. 17 after a retention pond that had been compromised by recent floods caused the road to erode.
Just hours after law enforcement officials placed “Road Closed” and “Flooded” signs, a automobile drove through and got stuck within the water-filled sinkhole.
“I can’t consider one other word besides silly,” neighbor Bruce Brothers told the local CBS station. “These people shouldn’t even have driver’s licenses.”
The CHP has added more cones across the barriers to try to maintain stubborn drivers away from the road until it’s repaired in a couple of weeks.
