SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An SUV caused a costly mess Wednesday evening after slamming into a water main in Sacramento’s Oak Park community.
It happened outside All Nations Church of God in Christ on Broadway just before 6 p.m.
“We saw the water just splashing everywhere,” Pastor Itasker Hollins Jr. told ABC10. “It was thousands of gallons of water splashing against the church and filling the streets up.”
He and church deacon Charlie Pruitt were alerted to the crash through a church alarm system.
“There was no fatalities,” Hollins said. “I don’t know who the individual is. We’re praying for him. Hopefully, he has insurance, but if he doesn’t— we’re just going to have to take care of it.”
Sacramento Police Department confirm the driver of the vehicle is expected to be OK.
Half a block away, 39th Street was covered with floodwater that was at least two to three feet deep in places.
“We flood even when it rains heavy, so I’m super concerned about the water. It’s already coming in,” neighbor Scott Rose told ABC10. “The problem I’m having is, it’s going to saturate the ground, so when it does start raining, my pumps can’t keep up. My pump is pumping into the water right now, so it’s just coming back into my house. Pretty brutal.”
Another neighbor, Paul Kaiser, was not as worried about the flooding. He passed the time paddling the newly formed ‘Lake Broadway’ on an inflatable dinosaur.
“I was at home so I decided, ‘I don’t have anything better to do. I might as well pull out this raft.’” Kaiser said, with a laugh. “I got it on Amazon, so I just wanted to have some fun!”
City crews got the water turned off just before 8 p.m. Wednesday and continued working to drain the floodwater.
As for the church, Pastor Hollins said, despite a wet foyer and some water damage in the sanctuary, “we’re still going to have church here on Christmas Eve! Friday night at 6:30!”
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