A New Jersey toddler was nearly swallowed up when a 10-foot-deep sinkhole suddenly opened up under his splash pool, according to a report.
The 20-month-old boy was splashing around in the front yard of the family’s Fair Lawn home on Monday when the ground opened up and almost sent the terrified youngster tumbling into the chasm, News12 reported.
“It was like a really big pop,” mom Elyana Schuck told the outlet. “I thought the splash pad popped and I looked around and I just saw him almost go into the ground, so I immediately pulled him out and my son was just crying. He was so scared.”
Her son, Josiah, was shaken but safe – but Schuck said she remains worried what comes next.
“I couldn’t even sleep last night,” she told the station. “I had anxiety, kept having panic attacks. Just like rethinking the whole situation like the ‘what if?’ If I wasn’t watching him fully, you know?
“A new fear unlocked,” she added. “You’re not like safe. This is a safe spot. Like I said, now is he even safe being in my house?”
Schuck called in contractors to examine the hole and are likely to dig up the front yard to ensure they can make the front law safe for little Josiah again, the report said.
Meanwhile, neighbors said it’s not the first time a freak sinkhole disrupted the quiet community.
Resident Joe Nasso told News12 that another property suffered the same fate about 20 years ago.
“The septic lid, which was wood at the time, they said,” Nasso said. “The landscaper was cutting the lawn and literally fell through the lid into the hole and it was about 10 feet deep.”