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Truck still in sinkhole as heavy machinery comes to scene
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A 55,000-pound truck is still stuck in a sinkhole as of Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Diamond Auto Spa in Oakwood.

Heavy machinery has been trucked to the scene.

Terry Towing was set to pull the truck out, but according to the company, the owners of the car shop decided to go with a different towing company.

Jason Spencer, public works director for the City of Oakwood, said the city’s involvement is over for now, too.

The sinkhole appears to have been caused by an old storm drain that caved in.

“It doesn't look like there was any damages to city infrastructure, only private property, and (we) won’t be able to assess any further until the truck has been removed,” Spencer said.

Diamond Auto Spa is back in business after the commotion shut down Wallis Road, a side road in Oakwood, for most of Tuesday. The road may be closed part of today as well.

In an effort to pull the truck out, crews began working as soon as the call came in at 7:43 a.m. Tuesday.

Terry Towing was still working to pull the truck out by 5:45 p.m., but ran into a problem with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA didn’t approve of its plans to send a man into the hole, have him rig up the truck and pull it out with the company’s towers.

“It's not going to be quick, simple or easy (getting it out),” Travis Terry said.

By 6 p.m. they were working on a plan to cut a larger hole, about 15 feet, so they could “drive” the truck out of the hole. Digging the hole deeper would lower the front two wheels, which were suspended in the air.

The truck belongs to the Badger Daylighting company, which specializes in hydrovac trucks and is based out of Canada.

Workers from Badger on site had no comment.

Water carried by the truck and about 150 gallons of fuel and were unloaded before work to remove the truck began. About 5 gallons of fuel leaked into the hole, Hall County Fire Services Capt. Zachary Brackett said.

The state Environmental Protection Division and utility companies were notified. No one was injured.

Hall County Fire Services were on standby for most of Tuesday, packing up their trucks by around 5 p.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.