Ralph Santos, 88, was weed whacking at approximately 5:20 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3 in his backyard on Bancroft Road in North Bay Shore when a cesspool collapsed in the yard, creating a sinkhole, Suffolk County Police said.
According to police, Santos fell into the hole, and was forced to use the electrical cord from the weed whacker to keep his head above the contents of the cesspool.
He was located a short time later by his wife, who made an emergency call to the Suffolk County Police Department at approximately 5:25 p.m. on Monday.
Officers responded to the Bancroft Road home and used an emergency life ring to keep Santos afloat. Within minutes, officers pulled Santos out of the hole, which was expanding, at 5:34 p.m.
Santos, 88, was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
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