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Woman Talks About Close Call With Giant Sinkhole on Anthony Boulevard
June 18, 2010 Updated Mar 23, 2009 at 5:50 PM EST FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- A busy north-south street in Fort Wayne could possibly be closed until the end of the week, after a section of pavement caved in as a car drove over it Sunday. The hole on North Anthony Boulevard by the bridge over the Maumee River looks more like it resulted from a meteor strike. Estimates put it at eight feet wide and 20 feet deep. City crews have been hustling to get it fixed near the intersection at Berry Street. It’s remarkable that someone drove over the hole and lived to tell about it. You could almost bury a compact car in the crater. Danielle Copeland was coming home from a baby shower when she drove over the unstable section of road. Danielle Copeland/Accident Victim: " It collapsed under my car and so the back end of my car kind of bumped as I came up to the railroad tracks, and that's what made my airbags inflate." Copeland came to the City Clerk's office to file a tort claim for the damages done to her vehicle. Police believe the front wheel drive feature on the car kept her from being pulled down into the void with disastrous consequences. Copeland: " I feel extremely blessed to be alive. I'm so glad that I made it through." City Utilities officials say the problem stems from an old brick sewer pipe crumbling below the street. The city says it has about 20 miles of deteriorating brick sewers, most of them downtown. The failure comes on the heels of the recent flooding. Frank Suarez/Ft. Wayne City Utilities: " We don't know if that flooding and the stress from the floods a week ago caused it to cave-in, or if it was just simply years of wear because it does date back to 1884." Copeland was treated for minor injuries from the airbag deployment, but it could have been worse. Copeland: " There was a cop who came to the hospital and he said, you know, me and the rest of the guys wanted to know if you could fill out a lottery ticket, because we think you're one of the luckiest girls we know." Because Anthony Boulevard is a major north-south artery, Spy Run Avenue to the west and Coliseum Boulevard to the east are bound to be handling a lot more traffic until the repairs are made, which could take until Friday.
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