A sinkhole opened on a southwest Atlanta street Monday afternoon, trapping the back of an Atlanta Fire Department ladder truck.
Atlanta Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Janet Ward told Channel 2’s Jeff Dore the hole opened up as the truck drove down Ashby Grove just after noon.
The fall bent up the rear of the ladder truck, which is in the shop for repairs. Ward estimated the hole at eight feet across and at least five feet deep.
“The front wheels made it over and the tiller, the back part of the truck, just went down in the hole,” Ward said.
Ladder truck 1, from a station near the Georgia Dome, was familiarizing itself with houses in the area, driving slowly down Ashby Grove.
Atlanta Fire Sgt. Justin Turner was onboard when the truck went down.
“I felt the asphalt start to crumble and (the truck) fell into a sinkhole,” Turner said.
Turner had initially thought it was just another pothole and told the driver to keep going.
“I looked out the door and saw it was much greater than a normal pothole,” Turner said.
Neighbors came outside to a sight they’d never seen.
“I just (saw) the back end of the fire truck wheel deep down in the ground,” one neighbor said.
It took a giant wrecker, the kind that tows semis, to pull the truck from the hole.
Officials are happy to report there were no injuries.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/atlanta-fire-truck-gets-trapped-sinkhole/nd4wd/
