# bronx Man Falls Through Sidewalk Into Rat-Filled Chasm



## brg240 (Dec 10, 2020)

*The family of a man who fell into a sinkhole brimming with rats in New York have spoken about how the incident left him traumatised and needing hospital treatment, local media report.*
Leonard Shoulders was walking by a bus stop in the Bronx area on Saturday when the concrete cracked beneath his feet.
A chasm up to 4.5m (15ft) deep swallowed Mr Shoulders, trapping him underground for about 30 minutes.
New Yorkers have described reports of his ordeal as a "nightmare".
"Rats crawling on him, he can't move," his brother, Greg White, told CBS New York. "He didn't want to yell because he was afraid there were going to be rats inside his mouth."
Firefighters were called to the scene, where a CCTV camera had captured the moment 33-year-old Mr Shoulders suddenly disappeared into the pavement.

I looked down and the guy was only moving his hand," one witness said.
Eventually, an emergency crew managed to rescue Mr Shoulders from the hole. Video showed him being wheeled into an ambulance on a stretcher.
He was taken to St Barnabas Hospital after suffering injuries to his arms, legs and face. As of Thursday, he remained there in a stable condition, the hospital told the New York Times.
"He's traumatised," his mother, Cindy White, told NBC New York. "He said he went straight down, and he was falling, falling, but the debris was falling and hitting him in the head."
The man's fall drew a visceral reaction from New Yorkers, many of whom described his ordeal as a "nightmare".
Rats have long been prevalent in New York. Rodent experts say more rats have been coming out of hiding to find food during the coronavirus pandemic.


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## brg240 (Dec 10, 2020)




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## nyeredzi (Dec 10, 2020)

OMG, I screamed when I read this title


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## TrulyBlessed (Dec 10, 2020)

Whew the face I’m making right now. How horrible! Get well and get money bruh.


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## awhyley (Dec 11, 2020)

Thank God people were around to witness him failing and that the paramedics came quickly to his aid.  If this was in the evening, who knows what could have happened.  This rat problem in NY is very troubling. 



TrulyBlessed said:


> Whew the face I’m making right now. How horrible! *Get well and get money bruh*.


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## victorious (Dec 11, 2020)

I read this in horror yesterday.  I used to have bad dreams as a child of rats climbing up the staircase.  

I'm glad he made it through those awful 30 minutes and people were around to get help.


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## Theresamonet (Dec 11, 2020)




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## CarefreeinChicago (Dec 11, 2020)

My mind would never be the same


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## jasmatazz (Dec 11, 2020)

Poor guy


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## Kanky (Dec 11, 2020)

This is one of the scariest things I have ever seen.


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## Black Ambrosia (Dec 11, 2020)

New York is already a cold city but this is ridiculous.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Dec 13, 2020)

What a nightmare !


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## frizzy (Dec 13, 2020)

Will he be able to sue the city or just the business owner of the sidewalk?


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## Lita (Dec 15, 2020)

NYC is dirty..Let them tell it we don’t have a problem here,but we do..This is beyond disgusting..I pray he fully recovers & NY should pay him a lot of money for relocation,because he can never walk down the streets again,and most likely will have flashbacks


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