Two Cars Submerged in Giant Texas Sinkhole; One Dies, One Rescued [VIDEO, PHOTOS]
Two cars were submerged into a sinkhole in San Antonio after a large sewage line ruptured Sunday night, killing one, injuring another.
69-year-old Dora Linda Nishihara, a Bexar County Sheriff's deputy, was inside one of the vehicles that fell into the sinkhole, and when first responders arrived, Nishihara's car was already 90 percent submerged in the waters. She died at the scene.
San Antonio Fire Battalion Chief Brian O'Neil says that one woman sustained minor injuries when she rescued a man in the other vehicle who drove into the sinkhole as well.
Both that man and the woman were taken to the hospital and are currently in 'good shape'.
The sinkhole was first reported at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Fire fighters began recovering the vehicles just after 10:00 a.m. Monday. The car containing Nishihara's body was removed around 1 p.m. and officials say there was not much first responders could have done to save her.
Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau issued the following statement:
We are heartbroken to confirm Deputy Dora Linda (Solis) Nishihara passed away after her car fell into a sinkhole Sunday. Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family. Deputy Nishihara worked as a Reserve Deputy from August 2009 to October 2016 before transitioning to a part-time Deputy at the Bexar County Courthouse in October of this year. We are assisting her family as they deal with this tragedy.”
Officials were trying to figure out a way to stop the flow of the sewer line to allow emergency crews to get through. The San Antonio Water System reports that there had been four other sewer spill overflows on Sunday.
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