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Massive 10-foot sinkhole nearly swallows car whole, closes 2 lanes on Long Island Expressway

Nypost · · 237 words · By Brandon Cruz
Infrastructure Failure Traffic Disruption Public safety
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Massive 10-foot sinkhole nearly swallows car whole, closes 2 lanes on Long Island Expressway A massive sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway shut down traffic and nearly swallowed a car whole Thursday, forcing the closure of two lanes just before rush hour,…

Claims checked 6
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Massive 10-foot sinkhole nearly swallows car whole, closes 2 lanes on Long Island Expressway A massive sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway shut down traffic and nearly swallowed a car whole Thursday, forcing the closure of two lanes just before rush hour,…

Why it matters

The 8-foot-deep and 10-foot-wide hole suddenly opened up on the westbound lanes of the expressway near Exit 49 in Melville just after 1 p.m., according to Suffolk County cops.

Common ground

One person’s car almost ended up in the abyss and “partially entered the hole,” police said, but nobody was injured.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/14/us-news/massive-10-foot-sinkhole-nearly-swallows-c…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
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Claim 1: “The two-lane shutdown is expected to last at least 24 hours”
CORROBORATED
Three separate sources explicitly state that the lane closure was expected to last at least 24 hours.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The lane closures are expected to last at least 24 hours, stretching into Friday afternoon, according to police. It was not immediately clear what caused the roadway to collapse.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/long-island/sinkhole-long-island-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Three lanes are currently closed on the Long Island Expressway westbound at Exit 49 due to a sinkhole. The lane closure is expected to last at least 24 hours, police say.
https://longisland.news12.com/2026/05/14/3-lanes-on-long-isl…
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web search NEUTRAL — MELVILLE, Long Island (WABC) -- The right and center lanes of the westbound Long Island Expressway are closed in Melville due to a large sinkhole. The closure near exit 49N is expected to last at leas…
https://abc7ny.com/post/large-sinkhole-closes-lanes-long-isl…
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Claim 2: “One person’s car almost ended up in the abyss and “partially entered the hole,” police said, but nobody was injured.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm a car (specifically a silver/gray Honda) partially entered the hole and that no injuries were reported.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — During US President Donald Trump's 2026 State of the Union (SOTU) address, he called out Democrats for not standing to honour Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who who was stabbed to death on August…
https://www.tiktok.com/@trtworld/video/7610792713893596424
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A driver was helped out of their vehicle by emergency crews after their SUV became stuck inside a sinkhole in Etobicoke.
https://www.cp24.com/video/2025/06/16/suv-stuck-in-etobicoke…
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web search NEUTRAL — She didn't sustain any visible injuries‚ but she was in a state of shock.” A Rand Water emergency controller‚ who asked not to be named‚ said that the vehicle had been removed not long after 7am. A cr…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2016-12-13-dri…
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Claim 3: “A massive sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway shut down traffic and nearly swallowed a car whole Thursday”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm a massive sinkhole occurred on the Long Island Expressway on a Thursday and affected a vehicle (a Honda sedan).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Incident location, Long Island What Happened A large sinkhole that developed on the Long Island Expressway Thursday afternoon partially swallowed the front end of a silver Honda sedan, forcing the clo…
https://longislandtraffic.com/accidents/2026/05/14/sinkhole-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A massive sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway shut down traffic and nearly swallowed a car whole Thursday, forcing the closure of two lanes just before rush hour, police said. The 8-foot-deep ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/14/us-news/massive-10-foot-sinkho…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Three lanes are currently closed on the Long Island Expressway westbound at Exit 49 due to a sinkhole. The lane closure is expected to last at least 24 hours, police say.
https://longisland.news12.com/2026/05/14/3-lanes-on-long-isl…
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Claim 4: “forcing the closure of two lanes just before rush hour, police said”
CORROBORATED
The claim that two lanes were closed before rush hour is corroborated by multiple sources, including one specifically mentioning the closure of two lanes just before rush hour.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Selecciona Programas > Programas y características. Mantén presionado el programa que quieres desinstalar (o haz clic en él) y selecciona Desinstalar o Desinstalar / Cambiar.
https://support.microsoft.com/es-es/windows/desinstalar-o-qu…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Si necesitas eliminar aplicaciones o programas de tu ordenador Windows, sigue estos pasos. A continuación te explicamos cómo desinstalar o eliminar aplicaciones fácilmente en Windows 7, 8, 10 y 11:
https://www.bitdefender.es/consumer/support/answer/14202/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Para encontrarla, abre el Panel de control y haz clic en «Programas y características ». También puedes buscar «Agregar o quitar programas» en la barra de búsqueda del Panel de control y hacer clic en…
https://es.wikihow.com/Agregar-o-quitar-programas
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Claim 5: “the right and center lanes are closed, while the left and HOV lanes are open”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that the right and center lanes of the westbound LIE were closed, while other lanes remained open.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The eastbound right and center lanes of the Long Island Expressway are scheduled to close between exit 61 and Exit 62 in Brookhaven overnight Thursday night, Feb.The left and HOV lanes, along with the…
https://dailyvoice.com/ny/massapequa/lane-closures-scheduled…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Three lanes are currently closed on the Long Island Expressway westbound at Exit 49 due to a sinkhole. The lane closure is expected to last at least 24 hours, police say. The sinkhole is approximately…
https://longisland.news12.com/2026/05/14/3-lanes-on-long-isl…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The right and center lanes of the westbound Long Island Expressway are closed in Melville due to a large sinkhole.The closure near exit 49N is expected to last at least 24 hours. The sinkhole is appro…
https://abc7ny.com/post/large-sinkhole-closes-lanes-long-isl…
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Claim 6: “The 8-foot-deep and 10-foot-wide hole suddenly opened up on the westbound lanes of the expressway near Exit 49 in Melville just after 1 p.m.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources confirm the dimensions (8 feet deep, 10 feet wide), the location (westbound LIE near Exit 49 in Melville), and the timing (Thursday afternoon).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The hole that developed is about 10 feet wide and eight feet deep. The Suffolk County Police Department said the right and center lanes on the westbound side of the LIE were closed at Exit 49 as a res…
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/long-island/sinkhole-long-island-…
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web search NEUTRAL — A sinkhole opened on the westbound Long Island Expressway near Exit 49 Thursday afternoon, swallowing the front of a gray Honda Accord and forcing lane closures expected to last until Friday afternoon…
https://greaterlongisland.com/lie-sinkhole-exit-49-honda-swa…
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web search NEUTRAL — A large sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway in Melville is disrupting traffic, Suffolk County police said Thursday.The sinkhole is said to be about 10 feet wide and eight feet deep. The closure of …
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/lie-sinkhole-in-melvill…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.