Downtown Pittsburgh, Pa., city dwellers witnessed a jarring site Monday when a sink hole appeared on a street causing the back end of a bus to dip inside and the front end of a car to tilt toward the hole.
The Port Authority of Allegheny County bus was stopped at a red light at the corner of Penn Ave. and 10th when the hole opened. The back of the bus and a smaller blue Kia were the only vehicles affected by the sink hole. The bus was reported to have a single passenger and the operator on-board; the female passenger was treated for minor injuries and released.
The collapse of the road caused a water main break that impacted small parts of the downtown area. Two cranes were erected and removed the 14-ton bus from the hole just before 10:00 p.m. Monday night. The car, a blue Kia Optima, was removed within hours of the incident.
According to Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich, the bus was sitting on power lines including two 22,000-volt lines, and damage to those lines, as well as fiber-optic cable, will be assessed after removal. The Pittsburgh Public Safety Department expects 10th between Liberty and Penn to remain closed for six to 10 weeks while repairs are made.
