Posted on 06/17/2005 1:29:35 PM PDT by Red Badger
ABANDONED CISTERN WAS UNDER STRUCTURE
CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU
McAFEE -- When Lela Stewart heard a noise late Monday night, she thought her cat had accidentally overturned something.
No shelves were disturbed so she looked in the garage -- and discovered her new Ford Escape at the bottom of a 10-foot-deep hole. The garage's concrete floor had collapsed into an abandoned cistern.
"I go to the door and open it and there's a big puff of smoke, which was concrete dust," Stewart said. "I just put my face in my hands and went, 'This can't be happening.'"
Stewart, who has lived in the Mercer County home since 1991, said the cistern probably hasn't contained water for 20 years.
"Had I known it would be dangerous, I definitely wouldn't have put my new truck in there," she said.
Before waterlines were extended into rural areas, many homes across Kentucky had underground cisterns, said Randy Couch, the State Farm Insurance representative in Harrodsburg who has Stewart's home and auto insurance policies.
"Before these rural water districts got city water to people, this was a common way to get water," Couch said.
A Harrodsburg company will begin work Monday to extract the vehicle from the hole.
Meanwhile, Couch said: "I've had several calls from people asking me if I know anybody that could come and check their cistern."
why would you call a half breed between a station wagon and a mini van a truck??
When I picked up a couple sacks of portland cement they offered to put it in my truck. They were a little embarrased when the truck turned out to be a Highlander, but the weight was not a problem. It is definitely not a truck, and not really a station wagon either. It is also not an off-road vehicle, although it does quite well on rough terrain if the rocks aren't too big.
#3
my thought 2!
Air bags could lift it, but then you have the problem of dragging it out and rupturing the bags... a crane can't reach it with the roof intact.
There is probably not enough headroom to snake a knuckleboom crane inside and lift... I wonder if they will have to break the front wall and excavate a ramp- or just build a new floor over the carcass?
Minor personal note- I did extract a car from an abandoned septic tank it fell into, years ago. The owner did not know it was there ( city sewer service had been available for years, the tank predated that. )-- but it was dried out, and only the front end was "down by the head"-- not the whole car.
It was a simple "J-Hook the axle and winch" operation.
BTW- note the rough, dark rectangle in the back wall? It almost looks like a doorway- wonder what purpose it served.
What are you talking about? It is NOTHING like a minivan or a station wagon. I consider Tahoes and Surburbans trucks because GM considers them trucks, they are built on a truck frame and I pay the truck rate at the carwash. (surely you knew that) %;9)
ok maybe it is a sissy "truck" that is wearing a tutu.
I have been hauling my "tutu" around in one for a looooong time. LOL!
ok ok i give!!! at least i got your juices flowing in time to start the weekend...hope you have a great one!!!
It's a simple matter for a mobile crane, though they may have to take off the garage door and punch a hole in the front over the door to allow room for the boom. Build a support frame under the car, attach cables to all four corners of the frame, drop the crane to minimum altitude over the Escape, reel/lift the frame up, drive the crane out or collapse the boom, bringing the car out of the garage.
The Toyota Highlander is built on the Toyota Tundra frame and uses the same running gear. However, at best the Tundra is a 7/8 scale truck, so it's not all that great. What you have is a truck or truck-based SUV.
If you had an RX330, you'd have a car-based SUV.
I think it is a unibody construction under there; I don't see a regular frame. The Four-runner is definitely a pickup truck chassis and a rear wheel drive basis. The Highlander is a front wheel drive like the Camry with extension to the rear wheels for the 4x4 effect. A true truck wouldn't have independent suspension all around.
You're right, I got the Highlander and the Sequoia confused there.
The Highlander is the RX330 with a Toyota badge; both are based off a Camry. The Highlander is a tall station wagon.
The Sequoia is the one based off the Tundra.
Weekend? If it is as hot where you are as it is where I am I hope your A/C works.
usually mid 90's with humidity rate to match...and yessir, my AC works fine and so does my hammock under the shade tree (for late afternoon nap)
If I'm not mistaken (which is possible) - the Highlander is actually built on the Camry platform. I think the Sequoia is on the Tundra platform...
This may have been an old 60's bomb shelter from the cold war era. I can't see a sistern being there..........
Good call- the only thing I could think of for a port that big in a cistern, would be to allow workers to remove the formwork after pouring the roof structure.
Bretheren and cistern, hear me.....
repent your evils suv driving ways or you'll open up the gates of Hell!!!.......
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