A large sinkhole opened up in a Lafayette, Colorado, neighborhood early Monday, almost swallowing a driver in his SUV in the process.
"In the moment, my truck was almost on top of me," Aurelio Zambrano said to KMGH.
The only things keeping Zambrano's vehicle from falling completely into the hole were his front and back bumpers. KMGH reports the sinkhole is about 30 feet long and 20 feet deep.
KCNC spoke with a neighbor who lives on the street where the sinkhole opened up and ran out of her house when she heard Zambrano's SUV get stuck.
"I saw that both of those tires were not on the pavement and that door was open. And I thought, 'Oh my goodness,'" Donna Carbone said.
KMGH reports Zambrano suffered no injuries aside from some high blood pressure. Rescuers ended up throwing him a rope so he could climb out of the hole.
Turns out, the sinkhole revealed the main shaft of what's known in the area as the Simpson coal mine.
According to the city's website, the area was a hot spot for coal mining during the 1860s through the 1930s.
The Boulder Daily Camera reports the neighborhood was built over the Simpson coal mine when it closed around 88 years ago.
Experts believe the earth used to fill in the shaft was eroded away by floods in the area in 2013.
The city will have crews begin filling in the sinkhole starting Wednesday, after which it will be tested for stability before that part of the road is opened back up to traffic.
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