Cracked water line at Destin's 98 Palms shopping center causes huge hole, swallowing SUV

The roadway in front of Olympus Emerald Coast Apartments next to Winn Dixie at 98 Palms was closed for eight hours Saturday after a water line broke, causing a sinkhole type hazard. 

A Mercedes SUV traveling east fell into the hole, but no one was injured. 

The incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. 

“A 12-inch reclaim water line developed a crack and broke open and so the water from that broken line, caused the washout of the road … and caused the sinkhole,” said Lockwood Wernet, general manager of Destin Water Users. 

Wernet said there was no warning of the cracked line. 

“It just happened, not sure why,” he said. 

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“We are looking at the pipe and trying to determine what caused it. It’s just one of those things that happen with pipes in the ground,” Wernet said. 

As for the people in the Mercedes, there were no injuries. 

“I saw the folks walk away from the incident. … Very grateful, they appeared to be OK,” he said. 

Destin Water Users was able to get to the line, dig it out and have it replaced by 3 p.m., and by 6:30 p.m., they had the base down and the road back open. 

“We still need to go in and do a permanent repair to the road,” Wernet said. 

The road, 98 Palms Boulevard, is a private road and is part of 98 Palms Shopping Center. 

Destin Water Users has an easement through the area for reclaimed water lines, as well as for regular water and sewer lines in the same vicinity, Wernet added. 

“So, we are working with the property owner to repair that … and hope to get that done this week,” he said. 

How big was the hole?

Wernet estimated the size of the hole to be 6- to 8-feet deep and about 10- to 15-feet wide. 

Destin Fire Rescue was on the scene as well. 

“By the time we got there, the Sheriff’s Office had the two people out of the car,” said Mike Perea, engineer with Fire Recue. 

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"They had no injuries or complaints,” Perea said. 

Fire Rescue remained on the scene until the towing company had the vehicle pulled out of the hole. 

"We were there to make sure there were no fluids on the ground or any other safety concerns,” Perea said. 

How long did it take to get the vehicle out?

“The vehicle was just sticking out, when we got there,” said Stan Nikolov of Destin Tow Brothers. 

Nikolov said the vehicle was loaded down with about 2,000 pounds of sand, not mud. 

“A lot of sand … it was very hairy,” Nikolov said. 

With the safety precautions and having to stop a couple of times, Nikolov said it took about an hour and a half to get the vehicle out of the hole. 

“Destin Water Users had to stop us because the ground started to vibrate. We had to stop a couple of times,” Nikolov said. 

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Nikolov said the car was a total loss, noting that at one point, it was almost completely submerged. 

“It was a pretty big one … it was deep,” he said of the hole. 

“And when the ground started shaking, it was like visibly shaking. We had to move away because I wasn’t sure what would happen next,” he said. 

Nevertheless, Nikolov said everybody worked well together. 

“The city people, the Sheriff’s Office, Destin Water Users … everybody was working as one body … it was a successful mission,” Nikolov said. 

NIkolov said they took extra care in pulling the vehicle out because they had been told there were possible gas pipes in the area. 

“We had to move it straight out without moving it even a ¼ inch,” he said, noting they used four straps to keep it straight. 

“That was a challenge. But it worked out well, without causing damage to the vehicle or the pipe. 

“The most important part was the people were not injured,” he added. 

Were people without water?

The pipe that burst was the line for reclaimed water and primarily services Holiday Isle. 

“It is what we use for irrigation. It has been treated and we send it back out for irrigation,” Wernet said. 

“They (Holiday Isle) were without irrigation water, but it’s been so wet lately, it didn’t hurt anybody’s yards,” he said. 

What's the next step for area?

Wernet said they are looking at resurfacing that area with about 50 yards of asphalt. 

“What we’re talking about is doing an overlay over the existing asphalt,” Wernet said. 

However, the main objective on Saturday was to get the road back open. 

“Everybody talked about that road going to nowhere when they developed it … but everybody uses it now,” he said. 

People use it to get to 98 Palms but also as a bypass around U.S. 98.