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© Cindy KubovicAn Aiken City truck fell through a sinkhole Thursday on Moultrie Drive in the Gem Lakes extension area.
When a loaded City of Aiken dump truck drove through Gem Lakes as a test to evaluate resident complaints that the streets there were poorly constructed by the developer, it took a tow truck to get it back out when a portion of the scrutinized roadbed collapsed.

Engineers have determined a leaking storm drain under the area caused the truck to fall through the undermined road surface.

City employee Steve Brown was driving the dump truck, filled with rocks and dirt, on Moultrie Drive Thursday to test whether the roads were supportive enough to hold that amount of weight. He said the truck just "kind of started sinking on one side; it didn't just automatically happen." City crews quickly worked to free the truck, and with the help of Wayne's Automotive Towing, lifted it out of the hole successfully, but not without leaving a large footprint. Crews examined the hole by sticking a pole in to see how deep it was - the answer, about 5 feet.

Mike Goss, the supervisor over the City's utilities, said crews were going to have to cut around the hole, and then fill the area with stones for the time being.