ATLANTA -- Several drivers slammed into a gaping hole on Peachtree St. in Midtown Atlanta Thursday night after metal plates covering the opening shifted.

The plates were covering a six-foot deep hole opened by a contracting crew working in the southbound lanes of Peachtree at Spring St. Once the plates shifted the hole began swallowing cars.

SLIDESHOW: Hole Opens On Peachtree

"I could have been a goner," said driver Kourtney Wright after he crashed into the hole. "You're just driving down the road, minding your own business and all of a sudden I see this big hole in the road and I didn't have time to stop, so I hit it."

Wright's car suffered front end damage, a bent rim and a flat tire. It was towed from the scene.

"Somebody's going to pay to fix it, I'm not going to pay," said the stunned driver.

Orange barrels and yellow tape were set up to mark the hole. Drivers heading southbound on Peachtree St. will have to use the northbound lanes to avoid the hole.