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Watch: Man distracted by phone plunges into sinkhole

Posted at 8:54 AM, Aug 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-22 09:56:29-04

This story is published by Deseret News Service, a partner of The E.W. Scripps Company.

Don't look at your phone while driving because you never know when you're going to come across a sinkhole.

In footage captured by CCTV, that very scenario happens to a man in China.

The camera first captures a startling sinkhole open up in the middle of a road, and then cuts to later when a guy comes by casually riding his motor scooter.

Despite knowing the name of the video is "Man on a scooter plunges into sinkhole," as I was watching I figured surely he must see the massive hole in the road ahead of him. Until I noticed the little glowing light in his hand: his phone.

I don't know all the circumstances that led to this, but it seems likely that he was distracted by his phone and didn't see that the road was about to suddenly disappear underneath him. Next thing he knew, he had taken a plunge head first into the sinkhole.

The video is dramatic and alarming to watch, but it's also a good reminder to always pay attention while operating a vehicle, no matter what. According to the video's description, the man escaped with only minor injuries, but you never know when you're not going to be so lucky.