Huge sinkhole in Irondequoit, New York swallows a car and its female driver after flooding as terrified woman is heard ‘screaming for help’

A female motorist was left ‘screaming for help’ after a sinkhole swallowed her car while she drove along a New York street at 5am. 

Firefighters raced to the scene after the woman and her passenger were plunged into the 10-foot hole, while another driver also crashed into a nearby pole when the road collapsed Wednesday morning. 

Investigators believe the hole opened up as a result of heavy flooding overwhelming a storm sewer pipe below the road. 

Anthony DeSalvo, who lives on the street where the bizarre incident unfolded, said he was woken up by the sounds of the woman pleading for help, which he initially believed to be due to a car crash. When he arrived on the scene, he said he was startled to find a ‘woman’s head peeking out of the ground.’

‘My adrenaline is still pumping as me, and my neighbor just pulled a woman and her passenger out of a sinkhole at the end of my street,’ he said on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the early-morning crash. 

He said they were only able to rescue the driver, who was ‘scared and disoriented’, and the passenger had to wait several minutes before he was saved by first responders. Both were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. 

Crews later winched the car out of the sinkhole, and DeSalvo said he was just thankful to be ‘at the right place at the right time to kind of do my good turn.’ 

Torrential rainfall caused the sinkhole to open up on a street in Irondequoit, New York, which officials estimated to be over 10-foot deep 

When the sinkhole opened up, one car plunged into it while another crashed into a nearby pole

A witness said he raced to the scene after hearing a woman ‘screaming for help’ when she drove into the sinkhole at around 5am on Wednesday

DeSalvo said he was terrified another unexpecting driver would fall into the hole while he and his neighbor tried desperately to help the woman and her passenger.

‘It was really hard for my brain to comprehend and process what was happening,’ he told ABC13. ‘I was really concerned because it’s a blind spot that another car was going to come by.’

He said despite the terrifying situation, the woman ‘seemed okay’, and he said he ‘stood in the road and kind of managed the traffic until my neighbor showed up.’

DeSalvo said when the neighbor arrived, they ‘grabbed each hand and helped her out of the sinkhole’, adding ‘it was about 12 feet deep – it was not easy.’

DeSalvo said in a separate interview with WHEC that he first encountered the driver who drove into the pole, who he said appeared to have a broken hand. 

‘The first thing I noticed is there was a lady and a pole,’ he said. ‘And she was telling me there was a lady in the ground, and I didn’t know what she meant.’

He said he was trying to tend to the woman’s injured hand when he looked to his right, which is when he saw ‘a head pop out of the ground.’

Anthony DeSalvo (pictured) said he raced to the scene after being woken up by the sounds of a woman ‘screaming for help’

DeSalvo said he and a neighbor were unable to help the male passenger due to the depth of the hole, and he had to wait for firefighters to arrive after several minutes to rescue him

Firefighters were on the scene within minutes of the crash, as witnesses say they tried to control traffic to prevent another car unexpectedly falling through

After first responders were able to rescue the situation, residents expressed relief that no one was killed as the 5am sinkhole was ‘probably the worst time for it to happen’

Crews later winched the car out of the hole and the two occupants were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries

Dozens of people were seen crowding the hole after the incident, as residents say they ‘can’t believe’ the size of the opening

Investigators believe the hole was caused by a storm sewer drain being overwhelmed, causing the road above to weaken

Officials said the hole opened up after the road was weakened by torrential rainfall, and National Weather Service data shows that more than 2 inches of rain fell in under three hours in the Rochester area Tuesday night. 

Residents in the area expressed their concern at the faulty road collapsing in their neighborhood, with neighbor Marla Esposito saying her reaction was ‘shock – I mean literally shock.’

‘Who would ever think that the ground is going to open up underneath you?’ she questioned.  ‘Especially as it was a woman, in the middle of the night when its dark, and she’s driving her car and it goes into the ground.’ 

Another local, who said his rain gauge at his home registered four inches of rain overnight, added: ‘I couldn’t believe it, it’s so big, it’s huge.’

‘You wouldn’t expect to come round the corner and find a big hole in the ground where you’re going, especially at 5 o’clock in the morning,’ said resident Jay Brown.

‘It’s probably the worst time for it to happen.’  

Local resident Marla Esposito said her reaction to the accident was ‘shock – I mean literally shock’

Jay Brown said he was thankful the incident wasn’t worse, as other motorists ‘wouldn’t expect to come round the corner and find a big hole in the ground where you’re going, especially at 5 o’clock in the morning’

Officials said the cleanup could last into the weekend due to the size of the sinkhole

Police have closed the road in both direction and said they expect it to remain shut for at least three days.

Dozens of people were seen crowding the hole Wednesday after crews cleared the area to catch a glimpse of the bizarre sinkhole. 

Investigators believe it was caused by a collapsed storm sewer pipe that was overwhelmed by the heavy rainfall.

When the sewer pipe becomes too full, water can leak under the road and cause it to swell and weaken. Rescue workers were seen in the days since laying new foundations under the road. 

The Monroe County Department of Transportation said Thursday morning emergency contractors worked through the night to locate the collapsed storm sewer pipe and said the cleanup could extend into the weekend. 

In an update shared to social media, the Monroe County Department of Transportation said Thursday morning emergency contractors worked through the night to locate the collapsed storm sewer pipe 

In 2021, New York officials were faced with an even bigger sinkhole when a 20-foot opening emerged in upper Manhattan 

The sinkhole was the third ground collapse to open up in a week at the time, as questions continue to be raised about New York’s crumbling infrastructure

New York is far from averse to sinkholes – with a giant 20-foot opening in July 2021 in the middle of a Manhattan street dwarfing the one found Wednesday in Rochester. 

It was the third ground collapse in a week at the time, leading to concerns about the state of the Big Apple’s crumbling infrastructure. 

City Councilmember Ben Kallos said he was told by investigators the sinkhole issue is likely the result of faulty or ineffective sewer pipes, causing similar problems in the city as it did upstate this week.