EXETER -- It wasn't an average afternoon for folks in one neighborhood after a dump truck ended up in a hole.
The truck was dropping off dirt for an upcoming sewer project in Exeter Friday afternoon when that hole opened up underneath it.
It wasn’t a sight people see every day in Exeter: a dump truck stuck in a hole that opened up in the 200 block of Susquehanna Avenue.
The street was clogged with on-lookers watching the truck company's crews trying to pull that rig out.
“I couldn`t get down the street, then I understood, but now I can see how it could happen,” said Linda Holschuh.
Not sure what type of situation they were dealing with, the Exeter Fire Department blocked traffic from coming through.
“We don`t want traffic coming up by it because we`re uncertain if this is a sinkhole or if this is an incident on this lot,” said Fire Chief Richard McNeil.
The Exeter Fire Chief says the truck was bringing dirt out to an empty lot for an upcoming sewer project on this street.
The truck was backing up into the lot to unload that dirt when the ground fell away from under the tires, causing the back three tires to fall in the hole.
“I was watching him all the while and then when I went back to look, I saw that he was stuck. The poor guy, the wheels were in the air,” said Lena Seman.
Once the truck was removed with the use of chains and the crane of a back hoe, a square cinder-block cellar was found below.
The fire chief believes this was a coal bin for the house that once stood here.
Neighbors said they never knew this was right under their feet here on this lot.
“He seems to think that was a coal bin that was just covered over because he said during the winters nothing ever grew there,” said Holschuh. “It is pretty neat and to think we always played there when we were kids.”
Borough officials were checking the foundation of the home next to the lot which they said may have some damage due to the impact of the truck falling through the hole.
