Manual Windows Saves Couple After Sinkhole Swallows Jeep

Modernity has failed us. Sure, electric windows are more convenient, but one couple in Vancouver, Washington, found out last week after old-school manual crank windows saved their lives.

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Maybe your awful uncle who says, “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” was right. Early in the morning on January 20, a sinkhole filled with water opened up in the middle of the street and swallowed Kevin Noel’s Jeep Patriot, with himself, and his girlfriend Katlynn Bickness, inside.

The main reason the couple was able to get out was because of their Jeep’s manual roll-down windows, according to the Seattle Times:

What they didn’t know as they slowly turned onto West 30th Street around 1:15 a.m., after their snack at Taco Bell, was that a 1940s water main four feet under the street had sprung a leak, probably unrelated to the weather, said Brian Wilson, a public works superintendent for the city of Vancouver. Water rushing from the damaged water main underground had dislodged enough sediment below the road to turn the asphalt into a tissue waiting to catch a bowling ball.

Or, in this case, a 3,000-pound 2015 red Jeep Patriot. The couple could see none of what was happening underground from behind the dashboard. To them, the view looked just like a road.

“Like a rollercoaster,” is how Katlynn Bicknell, Noel’s girlfriend, describes the couple’s sudden plunge.

Water rushed into the Jeep, filling the front seat, and Bicknell said she panicked, opening the door to try to quickly escape. The weight of the water pushed back, though, and the door slammed shut, catching Bicknell’s leg and foot. Noel then reached from inside the Jeep and pushed, holding the passenger door open and allowing Bicknell to escape. He then rolled down his window manually and climbed to the surface through the gap.

Noel was only driving about 10 mph when his car hit the ruined road which also helped save their lives as the Jeep didn’t fully plunge into the sinkhole. Instead, it stayed perched at the top, facing down at a steep angle, as you can see in the picture.

Emergency responders arrived soon after the couple called 911, and maintenance workers were able to remove the jeep from the hole, repair the water main and fill in the sinkhole within 12 hours of the incident. Not too shabby.

The Jeep is unfortunately trashed, and Noel and Bicknell are both pretty shaken up, according to the paper. Bicknell’s advice to people who may be this unlucky in the future: Don’t panic and carry a window breaker, just in case.