Two women’s basketball players from the University of Nebraska-Omaha played hero after practice on Tuesday, February 24, helping two drivers escape their cars after falling into a sinkhole.
“At first I thought it was just an accident,” student-athlete Olivia Borsutzki told college and high school sports outlet On3 after the incident. “I pulled over because something was wrong.”
Borsutzki and her teammate Esra Kurban were driving back from practice when they noticed a driver stepping out of a car in the middle of the intersection. Soon, they realized there were two cars across the street that fell into a massive sinkhole.
“We were at the light, just waiting for it to turn green and I saw that lady leaving the car, and I was like, ‘Oh!’” Borsutzki said on the Hurrdat ONE podcast. “It seemed like an accident, and then I looked closer … and I was like, ‘Oh there’s actually someone in the ground.’ ”
Borsutzki said she didn’t see anyone helping, so she pulled her car over and ran to the man who couldn’t climb out of the sinkhole after exiting this vehicle. She struggled to help him out herself, so she called over another bystander for additional assistance.
“On the news, it doesn’t look that scary, not that deep,” Borsutzki told The Athletic. “But standing right in front of the hole is — it was scary.”
She continued, “I wasn’t really thinking in that moment. I was just like, ‘I need to help this man who is stuck in a hole.’”
Kurban was not far behind her teammate to help out, and within a few minutes both drivers were safely out of the sinkholes and a safe distance from the dangerous situation.
Police arrived just a few moments later and surveyed the scene. Both drivers were shaken up but reported to be uninjured.
After everything cleared, the teammates continued their trip back from practice and the enormity of the moment — and the consequences of their efforts — sunk in.
“My dad called me the next day and was like, ‘You were in danger. It could be really bad for you,’” Borsutzki said of her parents, who live in Germany. “I was like, ‘Oh I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
The teammates dropped a photo of the incident into their team group chat, and soon after a video went viral on social media, reaching over 1.6 million likes on TikTok.
Borsutski told On3 that her strength coach texted her in response to the moment, “Very strong, big dog.”
The Nebraska-Ohama men’s basketball team showed its support for the Good Samaritans, quote tweeting a video of the incident with a supportive message.
“Proud of these Mavs 👏,” the team account posted.
Borsutzki said multiple cars passed the scene without helping, while others stood around recording the incident.
“Men and women were just recording. Nobody was helping,” she said to On3.
“Don’t be on your smartphones trying to record; help that person out. It could be you in that hole,” Borsutzki told The Athletic.
She continued, “That’s why it’s so crazy for us, why we’re all over the news. We just helped, we did something big, but it’s nothing major. I feel like every person should do the same thing we’ve done.”
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