On Monday, Beverly Goodwill, of New Orleans East, was driving back home to deliver her husband a bag of ice, but was interrupted by a terrifying commute over Winchester Park Drive.
“All of a sudden, the car rocked, and it went backwards,” Goodwill, 77, said. “I didn’t understand what was happening, and when I got out, I saw it: the car was in the hole.”
Despite living about 10 minutes away from the scene, Goodwill was stuck waiting for a tow truck for about four hours.
“The wheels started spinning, so I knew then that I wasn’t going anywhere,” Goodwill said.
Nearby neighbors told WDSU that the sinkhole has been an issue for months, after a garbage truck’s weight caused the street to crack, prompting neighbors to alert the city.
“We called when that crack was there,” said Hugh Blackwell, resident, “we were expecting it to get repaired then, but it didn’t get repaired. So hopefully this is the last time.”
Blackwell works for a traffic equipment company that sells signage. He told WDSU that he often takes it upon himself to mark the road closed for safety.
“People were just driving through, and they didn’t realize that it was a sinkhole. So I put those signs up,” Blackwell said. “This is a beautiful neighborhood that we live in, so we want to keep it that way. And, having a passable road is, is pretty important to us.”
Blackwell also credited concerns for the neighborhood children that play in the street and his blind dog.
After about three hours since Goodwill’s car got stuck, Sewerage and Water Board crews arrived to investigate.
The city of New Orleans told WDSU they are working on looking into the sinkhole.
READ MORE:New Orleans East sink hole prompts city response after a woman’s car was stuck for hours
