A truck crashed into a large sinkhole in California on Tuesday after authorities said the driver ignored a road closure sign, the third such incident in two weeks.
Shocking pictures showed the ill-fated white pickup truck stuck several feet underground in a sinkhole on Casson Road in Tracy.
“We can’t make these things,” the CHP wrote on Facebook alongside the photos. “It was 100 percent preventable. There are no excuses. The signs are clear, visible and unstoppable.”
The driver, who escaped unharmed, was issued a citation for running through road closure signs, officials said.
“‘Road Closed’ signs and barriers are strategically placed for your safety,” the CHP reminded. “Don’t drive after a road closure. If you come across a road closure, turn around, and find another route.”
Natomi Cardoza, who lives near Casson Road, told station CBS Sacramento that he heard “this big crunching sound” as the truck was swallowed by the sinkhole.
“We look out the window and, ‘Oh,’ there’s another one,” she said. “I don’t know. It’s funny because it’s a huge obstacle, and they were going around it.
Five days earlier, a Volkswagen sedan plunged into the same ditch after the driver chose to ignore warning signs.
“This can’t be real!” The CHP wrote at the time. “We are at a loss for words.”
“I wish there were signs and/or barriers that would have prevented this…” officials quipped.
The sinkhole opened on January 17 after a retention pond was damaged by recent floods that caused the road to collapse.
Hours after law enforcement officials put up “road closed” and “flooding” signs, a car drove off the road and into a water-filled sinkhole.
“I can’t think of any other word than stupid,” neighbor Bruce Brothers told the local CBS station. “These people shouldn’t even have a driver’s license.”
The CHP has now added more cones around the barriers to try to keep stubborn drivers off the road until it is repaired in a few weeks.
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