WATCH! Sinkhole Almost Swallows Car In Schenectady
A water main break caused major problems in one Schenectady neighborhood Wednesday morning. Sometime before 4:30am a pipe burst near Ellis Medicine's McLellan Street facility. One resident described the street as looking like a river and her back yard looking like a lake.
The damage from the break was so significant, it caused a sinkhole in the road, which trapped a car and its driver. Firefighters had to rescue him from the vehicle, luckily he wasn't hurt.
The break caused problems not only for the Ellis facility but for surrounding homes. Driveways, garages, and basements were flooded.
Another problem was the cold temperatures that turned the water into ice in some spots. NewsChannel 13's Samantha Hesler said she and her photographer both fell on the ice while covering the story.
Crews were able to get the break under control, but there was still water seeping out early Wednesday afternoon.
At one point, the water was reported to be up as high as some cars license plates.
One neighbor said he is dealing with 3 or 4 feet of water in his basement and a National Grid station down the road was reported to be flooded as well.
Props to the Schenectady Fire Department for getting the trapped driver out safe and for helping out the neighbors dealing with this. If there's any silver lining, it is supposed to warm up over the next couple of days so any ice will hopefully melt quickly.