A Bronx man described the moment he fell more than 15 feet through a sinkhole and said he was surrounded by rats last Saturday.
RELATED STORIES: Man Reported Missing After Falling Into Sinkhole And Being Swept Away By Drain Pipes
According to the Daily Mail, 33-year-old Leonard Shoulders was waiting for the bus on Third Avenue near St. Barnabas Hospital on Saturday when the sidewalk formed into a sinkhole. Surveillance footage showed the moment when he attempted to hold on but plummetted 15 feet underground. His mother, Cindy White, said Shoulders was scared to call for help because he was surrounded by rats and thought they would’ve gone into his mouth.
‘He is traumatized. He said he went straight down. He said he was just falling, falling. But the debris was falling and hitting him in the head,’ He was like, “Ma, the rats down there were ridiculous.” He was like, “they were like so big.” He was scared to yell out because he thought they were gonna go in his mouth,’
RELATED STORIES: Man Who Fell Off Cliff Is Saved By Apple Watch After It Detected A “Hard Fall”, Called 911
He waited over an hour for help until firefighters and police officers to rescue him then transported Shoulders to the nearby hospital. Currently, the incident is being investigated by The Department of Buildings, and several other businesses were closed due to safety protocols.