Sinkhole opens up in woman's driveway while crews repair existing one

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A huge sinkhole opened up in a woman's driveway Wednesday as a crew was working on another sinkhole in her back yard.

The contractor repairing the damage believes it was the combination of heavy rains and shoddy materials, and the homeowner says she has little recourse.

"A much bigger problem than we could have anticipated," Lori Woroschuk told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.

Woroschuk thought the 18-foot sinkhole in her back yard was the worst of it. It opened up over the summer.

"They were doing the back yard, and a portion of the driveway collapsed under the truck," Woroschuk said. "I had a good cry."

The second sinkhole quickly grew just as deep as the first, and Woroschuk is going to have to dig even deeper into her wallet.

"Thousands and thousands of dollars," Woroschuk said. "You know, you call your insurance company and they say, 'Oh yeah, we hear this all the time.' There's no insurance for it in Georgia. There's nothing you can do to protect yourself against it."

"It's a heartache," said contractor Bobby Hancock.

Hancock, with Bailey's Construction and Landscaping, said after the summer's heavy rains, he's seeing a lot of sinkholes around homes.

"Oh, we do two or three a week," Hancock said.

But Hancock said there's more to it than rain. He said many builders cut corners and broke the law when they dug holes and then filled it in with tree debris, building materials and a whole lot more.

"Car parts, metal, water heaters ... everything," Hancock said.

Often, the homeowners have no idea until it's too late.

"There doesn't seem to be a better way to protect a homeowner," Hancock said.

Worschuk said she could try to go after the builder, provided it is still in business.

WSBTV