‘Just surreal’: Omaha driver describes moment his car collapsed into a sinkhole
By Beth Carlson
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OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — An Omaha driver was making his normal commute home after 3 p.m. Tuesday when he stopped at the intersection of 67th and Pacific. Moments later, his car fell several feet into the ground.
Jonathan Inman is the driver of the red Jeep seen in video collapsing into a sinkhole. He says he remembers driving up to the light and then remembers needing to get out of the car.
Video captures moment when road ‘collapses’ leaving two vehicles stuck
“It didn’t even like sink. It just went right down. I don’t even remember that moment,” Inman said. “I remember being there, and then I remember, you know, looking up like, ‘okay, I need to get out right now.'”
Inman says he was able to open his car door and grabbed whatever was nearest to him, like his keys and cellphone. He says he was nervous to exit his car, which had tilted backwards so his front bumper pointed out of the sinkhole.
“That whole thing was just surreal. The first thing I remember, basically seeing as the woman who had made the call to 911 just standing there like get help and whatnot, and then basically, adrenaline kicks in. My thought was, I need to get out of this car,” Inman said.
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Omaha Police confirmed neither driver was hurt. Inman says he’s grateful to the nearby drivers who came running to help.
“I couldn’t pull myself out because there was nothing to step on, just based on the height of it. So thankfully, those bystanders were there to help pull me out,” Inman said.
Tow truck crews and Omaha Police and Fire were able to successfully pull both cars out. Inman said he was unable to drive his car based on the damages and is waiting for further assessment.
“You can’t actually open the back because that whole bottom part is gone, and the muffler was hanging off,” Inman said.
He says adrenaline carried him through it. But for many of the people he told, the story was shocking.
“A lot of my friends told me that I have a great party story from now on,” Inman said. “Obviously, had either of us been moving, had this hole sunk in the opposite direction, I think it would have been much worse for both of us. So, I’m very grateful that it happened as it did.”
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