KFOR.com Oklahoma City

Woman sues after being trapped for hours in Midwest City hole

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – A woman who was trapped in a hole along a Midwest City street back in October is now suing the city and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

On October 19, Tiffany Harris was rescued from a hole around three feet wide and eight or nine feet deep along NE 23rd St., east of Douglas Blvd.

Harris told authorities she was walking nearby the evening before when she fell in and was unable to get out on her own.

According to the lawsuit, she was trapped for at least 12 hours and sustained serious injuries from the fall.

Harris claims she’s paid more than $100,000 in medical bills since then.

David Richardson with the Midwest City Fire Department said she was discovered by a couple the following afternoon, who then called first responders to safely rescue her from the hole.

About an hour after she was pulled from the hole, the city came out and filled the pit with sand.

At the time of the incident, Midwest City officials said they had no idea where the hole came from.

Harris’ lawsuit alleges Midwest City and ODOT were negligent and didn’t have any warnings posted about the hazard.

City officials say they cannot comment on the lawsuit.

An ODOT official told KFOR it’s unfortunate the situation happened, but the agency is not involved since the incident area is in Midwest City’s right-of-way.