AKRON — East Buchtel Avenue in Akron is closed after a part collapsed yesterday afternoon, creating a sinkhole in the middle of the road.
Micheal Asiamah was driving home when he saw the road in front of him collapsing.
"The road just started sinking like the speed of light, and it didn't make any noise. It was fortunate that no one was driving around it while it was sinking in," said Asiamah.
Innocent Lot was also driving home; he was just a few feet away from pulling into his apartment complex before he realized the hole in the middle of the road.
"My wife was like slow down, slow down the road's going down, and she yelled move before it takes the whole the car in," said Lot.
Lot and Asiamah used crates from the nearby gas stations to barricade the hole, and together, they redirected traffic.
"There were school buses with kids and coming so I stood right here, tried to direct all cars, slow them down, because it was still going down and going down. A lot of people were passing without even observing it," said Lot.
Immediately, Lot's wife called the police, and when they arrived, they were able to barricade the sinkhole with their cars.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik posted on social media Friday night, saying, "The road collapsed at 680 East Buchtel Avenue, and crews are backfilling the collapse with stone and placing steel plates until a full repair can be made."
Neighbors were confused about why the road collapsed; Asiamah said crews recently worked on the road.
"It doesn't look bad at all; I just saw people working on the road this past month, "said Asiamah.
Officials are not sure what caused the sinkhole. Malik said the road will be closed for the weekend, but businesses will remain open, and people will still have access to their apartments.
