Sinkhole in Pennsylvania Swallows Car at Tanning Salon

Aug 13, 2014 01:24 PM EDT | Matt Mercuro

A woman was hospitalized on August 12 after her vehicle fell into a sinkhole opened up in a Pittsburgh-area parking lot, according to Reuters.

Video footages showed the sinkhole in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, was approximately three times the size of a car and filled with water.

"I'm in shock, this is not happening, my car is gone," the unidentified driver said to TV station KDKA.

Local media photos showed a white sedan falling into the hole rear-end first.

The woman was backing out of a parking space when her car sank, according to Reuters.

She was able to escape out of her car window before the vehicle submerged and was listed in "good condition" at a local hospital, according to information released by WPXI television.

The sinkhole opened in the parking lot of a tanning salon, according to an Allegheny County Police dispatcher.

Emergency crews shut down southbound portions of McKnight road, a busy area full of malls and other businesses, according to the Associated Press.

The Hollywood Tans business was evacuated shortly after the sinkhole opened.

Sinkholes form when rock below the earth's surface is dissolved by groundwater, according research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.

A storm drain runoff pipe collapsed during a recent heavy rains, according to local media reports. It is not yet known if they contributed to the issue. 

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