Deerfield Beach crash causes more than average chaos — creates sinkhole

May 29-- May 29--A crash at a busy Deerfield Beach intersection Tuesday led to more than a couple of angry drivers and a sinkhole that took more than six hours to fix.

The crash, and the resultant sinkhole, led to about 500 business and residents having to boil their water.

At about 7:30 a.m., Menelas Robens, 48, hit a BMW while making a turn at the intersection of Southwest 10th Street at Natura Boulevard, said Rebecca Stewart, the City of Deerfield public affairs director. The driver of the BMW lost control of the car and crashed into a fire hydrant.

When she hit the hydrant, she struck the water line, causing so much water to pour out it caused a sinkhole, Stewart said. The water also washed away the electrical power to a nearby traffic light. There were no injuries and the car had to be removed by an industrial lift.

Robens was cited for failure to use due care, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

The cleanup of the crash caused several hours of traffic woes, as FP&L had to repair the traffic light and county crews had to pour concrete to fix the sinkhole.

By early evening, the road was open again.

Because water services had to be turned off and on during the repairs, county officials released a boil water alert, Stewart said. It advised residents to boil water used for drinking, eating and washing dishes in case of contamination. The alert will stay in effect till Wednesday.

County water officials have taken water samples and are waiting on the results to check for possible contamination, she said. They believe the water is not contaminated, but issued the alert as a precaution, affecting 500 businesses and residents.

The water alert affects the area along FAU Research Blvd between Southwest 15th Street and Southwest 10th Street, the west side of Southwest Ninth Avenue to FAU Research Boulevard, between Southwest 11th Court and Southwest 15th Street, as well as People's Trust Insurance.

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