Sinkhole swallows teen driver's car — one month after he got his license, video shows

One month after receiving his driver's license, a Minnesota teen drove his car head-first into a huge sinkhole on Tuesday morning.

The Renville County Sheriff's Office shared video footage of the shocking aftermath. It shows 16-year-old Jaxon Lang's car stuck inside the sinkhole as a small stream flows underneath.

"Another example of the power of Mother Nature!" the police department wrote. "Following a significant rainfall in Renville County, this township road washed out around the culvert beneath."

Lang's grandmother, Candace Leopold, told WCCO that the teen was driving to work in Redwood Falls when the sinkhole swallowed up his vehicle.

Lang, who received his driver's license one month ago, said he wasn't sure what the sinkhole was at first as he drove toward it.

“I seen the hole probably 30 yards big, but I didn’t have that much time but it didn’t look that big because I was pretty low in the car so I thought maybe it was branch or something,” he told WCCO. “And I got closer and I had the brakes on cause I thought something was in the road.

"Then I slammed on the brakes and the car just slid into the hole and then hit the other side and fell down.”

He climbed out of a back window and escaped unharmed, according to KGO.

Police say there's likely a reason Lang wasn't injured.

"This 16-year-old driver was very lucky to have escaped without any injuries thanks in part to his seat belt and air bags," the police department wrote. "Remember, always BUCKLE UP; you just never know what situation you might encounter!"

This story was originally published July 5, 2018 at 9:55 AM.