Sinkholes menace Florida, Ohio

Published: Updated:
Photos via WBNS-TV, WKMG-TV

OCALA, Fla. (AP) Sinkholes that opened in Florida and Ohio are responsible for destroying a restaurant and swallowing a car, officials said.

Janet Coyne, 79, and her 81-year-old husband managed to get out of their vehicle before it fell into a 25-foot-wide, 25-foot-deep sinkhole in Ocala, The Ocala Star-Banner reports.

A longstanding restaurant in Crooksville, Ohio, 60 miles southeast of Columbus, had to be demolished after a 20-foot-deep sinkhole appeared Friday, causing the first floor to partially collapse, WBNS-TV reports.

Sprankle’s Village Pizza was a staple in Crooksville for 47 years. Owner Roger Sprankle tells WBNS the sinkhole might have been caused by having a creek on one side of the building and a rail line on the other.

The village will pay for the demolition because the business had no insurance.

The Ocala sinkhole also ruptured a gas line. It was likely caused by eroding limestone underneath the drainage system, a city official said.

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