A Victoria-area family got a shock when they backed out of their driveway this week.
Water had been flooding Isbister Street in Esquimalt since the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday, bubbling up and pouring out of cracks in the street. It was still usable, however, and around 10 a.m. Sue McCartney and granddaughter Freya Perfect left for an outing.
But moments after leaving the driveway and entering the cul de sac, McCartney’s truck starting sinking.
At first, she thought a tire had popped.
“They backed out and boom, it just caved in,” said Sue’s husband, Mike McCartney.
READ ALSO: Saanich starts work to fix sinkhole discovered during February snowstorm
| Freya Perfect, Sue McCartney and Mike McCartney stand on the temporary patch over the sinkhole that partially swallowed their truck early Tuesday morning. (Nina Grossman/News Staff) |
Said Perfect: “My grandma got out and said, ‘We found the leak!’”
Crews arrived to uncover the entirety of the hole and vacuum out the water.
They were going to call a tow truck, but crews told McCartney they were concerned about the stability of the street, so they put down planks and drove the truck out.
The next morning, the municipality had repaired the water main and put a temporary patch on the sinkhole.
Tara Zajac, spokesperson for the Township of Esquimalt, said crews will get to the final repair “as resources and existing workloads allow.”
The McCartneys said there was minimal damage to the truck and no one was hurt.
| Sue and Mike McCartney’s truck was partially swallowed by a sink hole outside their Esquimalt home Tuesday morning. (Courtesy of Sue McCartney) |
READ ALSO: Cat trapped in Edmonton sinkhole lured out by treats
nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
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