Strawberry Street reopens after driver opened sinkhole Thursday afternoon

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond’s Fan District witnessed a dramatic turn of events yesterday as a gaping sinkhole swallowed a car on Strawberry Street near the Richmond Department of Motor Vehicles office. Today, the road is open again after swift repairs were carried out last night and today.

Construction crews spent the night refilling and repaving the sinkhole that doubled in size after a driver drove into it Thursday afternoon, reopening Strawberry Street early this morning.

Thursday afternoon’s incident took place amidst ongoing road closures to repair damaged caused by a water main break. The driver disregarded several cones which indicated that Strawberry Street was closed, leading to the plunge into the sinkhole. The driver was later charged with reckless driving.

What initially seemed like a contained problem soon escalated, as the sinkhole doubled in size within hours, prompting concerns about the underlying causes.

Donna Edwards, who lives Strawberry Street, voiced her anxiety over the incident, emphasizing the need for drivers to exercise caution, especially on busy roads like this one.

“It’s actually terrifying to think this is happening right in front of the house – where we walk, where we drive and so close to everybody,” Edwards said.

Edwards said she sees people running the stop signs outside of her house multiple times a day, and hopes drivers will be more careful when driving on Strawberry Street in the future.

“I would really love it if people would start paying attention to signs, such as stop, no parking, construction,” Edwards said.

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