--- title: These Sinkholes Swallowed Vehicles Whole description: The Pittsburgh woman who lost her sedan to a sinkhole on Tuesday is not alone. canonical: https://time.com/3108427/sinkholes/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-13T20:10:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:54.537Z article:section: Science og:title: These Sinkholes Swallowed Vehicles Whole og:description: The Pittsburgh woman who lost her sedan to a sinkhole on Tuesday is not alone. og:url: https://time.com/3108427/sinkholes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48b6d833d4129563/69869f6b3bc9991d231a4e52/sinkhole-disaster-car-07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4914 og:image:height: 2764 og:image:alt: A Los Angeles fireman looks under a fire truck stuck in a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sept. 8, 2009. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a burst water mai og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Sinkholes Swallowed Vehicles Whole twitter:description: The Pittsburgh woman who lost her sedan to a sinkhole on Tuesday is not alone. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48b6d833d4129563/69869f6b3bc9991d231a4e52/sinkhole-disaster-car-07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Open Wide: These Sinkholes Swallowed Vehicles Whole > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 13, 2014 8:10 PM UTC  A Los Angeles fireman looks under a fire truck stuck in a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sept. 8, 2009\. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a burst water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said. A Los Angeles fireman looks under a fire truck stuck in a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sept. 8, 2009\. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a burst water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said. Nick Ut—AP  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 13, 2014 8:10 PM UTC The Pittsburgh woman who [lost](http://time.com/3107579/sinkhole-car/) her sedan to a sinkhole on Tuesday is not alone, as this slideshow reveals. Whether that’s comforting or disconcerting is for her to decide.  Emergency officials approach cars on the edge of a sinkhole in Baltimore, April 30, 2014. AP  One of eight Chevrolet Corvettes is removed from a sinkhole in the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, Monday, March. 3, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. On Feb. 12 2014, a large sinkhole swallowed eight prized cars, piling them in a heap amid loose dirt and concrete fragments. Alex Slitz—AP  A construction vehicle lies where it was swallowed by a sinkhole on Saint-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, August 5, 2013. Christinne Muschi—Reuters  A utility worker looks underground to examine the scene where a sinkhole began on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident. Logan Mock-Bunting—Getty Images  Workmen view a car with its front end in a sinkhole, July 30, 2013, in Philadelphia. PVI-TV reported the sinkhole opened up overnight on a street in the city's Hunting Park section, with the front of the car falling in the hole. Matt Rourke—AP  A sinkhole covers a street intersection in downtown Guatemala City, May 31, 2010\. A day earlier authorities blamed the heavy rains caused by tropical storm Agatha as the cause of the crater that swallowed a a three-story building but now say they will be conducting further studies to determine the cause. Luis Echeverria—AP  A Los Angeles fireman looks under a fire truck stuck in a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sept. 8, 2009\. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a burst water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said. Nick Ut—AP  An Aerial view looking down on a sinkhole as traffic passes in Frederick, Maryland on April 24, 2008. Linda Davidson—The Washington Post/Getty Images  Rescue workers remove a bus with a crane from a Lisbon street sink hole Nov. 25, 2003\. The bus was parked on a Lisbon street when the ground began to open. No casualties were reported. 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