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Man's truck falls into hole in construction zone covered by plywood in north St. Louis

A man's truck is damaged after he drove into a hole in North St. Louis. The hole, which the man says was 10 feet deep, was covered by plywood instead of steel.

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man is questioning the city's safety practices in construction zones.

Steven Lough said his truck is damaged after he drove into a hole in North St. Louis. The hole, which the man says was 10-feet deep, was covered by plywood instead of steel.

"My truck is not driving straight now. I’m shocked it ever came out the hole," he said.

Lough's job takes him all across the St. Louis region. He works in the construction industry and it's the reason why he ended up in north city Wednesday night.

"I drive semi-sized loads," Lough said. "I was heading back to our shop, which is over near Geraldine Avenue."

As Lough and his co-worker headed back to the shop after a lunch break, he tried to avoid an out of control car at the intersection of Margaretta Avenue and Union Boulevard. He said he changed lanes to prevent an accident.

"I swerved over out of his way so I didn't get hit then I ended up in a hole that was covered by a piece of plywood," he told 5 On Your Side. "The entire passenger side of my truck fell into this hole. I mean it threw us for a ride."

Lough and his co-worker were able to climb out of the hole but the incident left him questioning the city's safety measures when it comes to construction zones.

"I deal with construction sites like this all of the time with my job. Most of these sites if you go to and they have a piece of plywood covering that and that's all they had with some little plastic cones around it, OSHA or something would have come by that that would be a huge no-no," Lough said.

5 On Your Side took Lough's concerns to the city. The director of public utilities said crews were working to repair some water pipes at the time of the incident but added it is still investigating how plywood got over the hole.

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