ATLANTA — An elderly woman was pulled to safety after falling into a dangerous sinkhole that formed right outside her northwest Atlanta home. Aaron and Annie Kent can no longer live in the home, because the structure may be unstable.
Aaron Kent said his wife was on her way to work on Wednesday morning when she fell.
"When we opened the door, she stepped forward, and that is when she went on into the hole," Aaron Kent told Channel 2's Rachel Stockman. "I looked down at her, I said, 'Give me your hand.'"
His wife is OK, but now the Kents have to deal with a big mess, and cannot stay in the home because the structure may be unsafe.
The sinkhole formed after a storm water line collapsed.
"It was well over 60, possibly 70 years old, concrete pipe, and it was just outside its life span," said Reginald Wells, a deputy commissioner with the Office of Linear Infrastructure Operation at Atlanta's Watershed Management.
City workers are investigating who exactly the line belongs to.
"I know they should pay for it. It is their water coming off their street," Kent said.
Spokesman for Atlanta's Watershed Management Reginald Wells said they are working to figure out the best possible solution for the city and the customers, but in a situation like this, it not always clear-cut.
"Just because it collapses on person's property and its utility line, doesn't necessary mean it's a public utility, it could very well be private infrastructure," wells said.
The Kents say they are just thankful no one was hurt, and are now living with their son temporarily. It is not clear who owns the pipe and is responsible for paying for this mess, but the city said it wants to work with the homeowner to come to a fair resolution.
WSBTV
