NEW YORK – A Nassau County family says the city and its insurance company are spinning them after an 8-foot-deep sinkhole appeared in their driveway after a period of heavy rain.
When David Moultrie came home from work on Saturday, he says he couldn’t believe what he saw on his driveway to Elmont: a huge hole in the front yard.
He thought it looked like an earthquake had occurred and Moutrie’s wife Rhonda Brooks says she was so worried the huge hole would collapse further and she couldn’t sleep.
“I didn’t want any of the neighborhood kids to call, so I started cordoning him off myself and got warning tape,” Moultrie said.
He called 911 and the police arrived, but because the sinkhole is on his property, he says the agents told him it was his insurance company that should take care of it.
“On Saturday I called them, they said someone would call me on Monday. On Monday I called, no one answered. I explained the seriousness of it. I didn’t want anyone to fall for it. They said, ‘By the end of the day.’ No one had answered me, “Moultrie said.
Deep in the hole, there appears to be a wall that looks like a well. The owners do not know what is in the well because they do not use well water there, but they are concerned that it is something that could cause more of their property to collapse.
“Knowing that I had just gotten there and that my daughter had backed up her car, I was glad that everything was okay,” Brooks said.
Moultrie sought help elsewhere and called around town, but says they kept telling her to call her insurance company.
“My frustration is excessive with this insurance company. I mean, you take my money year after year after year. This is the first time I have had a claim,” Moultrie added.
NBC New York has contacted the company seeking comment, but received no response prior to the publication of this story.
Meanwhile, Moultrie and Brooks are trying to keep people away from their home to make sure no one gets hurt.
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