PITTSBURGH — Squirrel Hill residents are demanding immediate action and a permanent fix after a small child was injured after falling into a sinkhole.
“We’ve been telling our kids, ‘Watch out, watch out! There’s a hole!,’” said Amanda McKoy of Squirrel Hill.
Amanda McKoy is keeping an extra watch on her 2-year-old daughter Ruby every time she rides her scooter in front of their home.
She’s on edge ever since her 9-year-old son fell deep into a sinkhole, injuring his leg.
“He was hyperventilating, overexcited about it because it was scary, late at night, fell into this big hole,” said McKoy.
The sinkhole is forming directly in front of their house on Woodmont Street.
At first glance it seemed like a small issue, but once she took a closer look, she realized it’s at least five feet across and four feet deep under the street.
The ground around it is cracking.
“There are three toddlers that live here. They’re all about 2, 3 years old. This is a neighborhood. We have plenty of families walking on this street,” said McKoy.
Factor in tight street parking and the weight of cars on the road, and neighbors say it’s only a matter of time before it expands or someone’s car is seriously damaged.
“It goes way underneath there. So if you’re parking there and it collapses that’s half your car in the sinkhole,” said Sam Franke of Squirrel Hill.
In the interim, Amanda McKoy has taken matters into her own hands by covering the hole until there’s a permanent fix.
Channel 11 reached out to the city of Pittsburgh, but a spokesperson says it’s an issue for Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.
PWSA told Channel 11, “They are going to secure the site tonight and begin the investigation of the sinkhole first thing tomorrow morning.”
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