Flooding in central Massachusetts opened a sinkhole under three new Cadillac crossovers, but the vehicles survived with only minor damage.
"I've been here 33 years and I've never seen anything like it," Joel Baker, a co-owner of Durand GMC-Cadillac in Leominster, told Fox Weather. "We moved all the vehicles that were in harm's way and thought we were going to be fine, and then the ground let go underneath the three vehicles."
The store is next to the Nashua River, but the sinkhole was formed last week when nearly 9 inches of rain fell onto higher ground and rushed downhill onto the dealership lot. Several inches of muddy water got into the showroom, as well, but staffers were able to clean up and reopen the store quickly.
The three Cadillacs parked in front of the building dropped about 6 feet when the ground gave way. But after the vehicles were lifted back onto solid ground, they turned out to have only cosmetic exterior damage.
Controller Michelle Bettez told MassLive that all three stayed completely dry inside and were still driveable, which she said was "hard to believe."