Traffic on Montwood Drive in East El Paso got an unwelcome surprise Wednesday when a car partially dropped into a sinkhole, its front passenger wheel swallowed by the pavement while the rest of the vehicle hung precariously over a fresh gap in the roadway. Cellphone video of the bizarre scene quickly made the rounds online, and early reports said no one was hurt.
Local video captures the moment
According to KTSM, the clip, credited to the social account FitFam, shows the front passenger-side wheel suddenly dropping into the hole as the asphalt gives way, leaving the rear of the car still perched on the street. The station reported that it contacted El Paso Water for comment and that, as of its initial coverage, there were no injuries reported.
Footage circulated widely
The video shows the vehicle pitched sharply forward after the pavement collapses beneath the passenger side, with most of the car left hovering above the newly formed cavity. National outlets picked up the local footage after it began circulating on social media, according to Yahoo.
A pattern in far-east El Paso
This latest incident fits into a troubling pattern of sinkholes and street collapses reported in far-east El Paso neighborhoods over the past year. Those events have at times followed water-main breaks and have required emergency repairs. Local outlets have chronicled several such openings earlier this year and in late 2024, a run of problems that residents say has fueled worries about aging underground infrastructure, KVIA reports.
El Paso Water and infrastructure context
El Paso Water has previously said that aging water lines and main breaks can trigger pavement failures and openings, and the utility has been working on rehabilitation projects across the city. A recent newsroom update from the utility describing upcoming traffic-control changes on Airway Boulevard notes that active water-line work can require lane shifts and temporary restrictions, as detailed by El Paso Water.
What comes next
KTSM reported that it has reached out to El Paso Water for more information and plans to update its coverage when officials respond. For now, the clearest record of what happened is the cellphone footage and the station’s account that no injuries were reported.
