Vehicles stranded after sand washout in Oakland

The Oakland Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of vehicles stranded on J.W. Jones Road near the Florida’s Turnpike late Monday, Sept. 11. The cars and trucks were stuck in wet sand that washed down the hill from the Turnpike overpass construction during a heavy rainstorm.

According to Oakland Deputy Chief Mike Bryant, the storm sent a barrage of construction sand and rainwater down onto J.W. Jones. He said drivers traveling under a newly constructed portion of the Turnpike likely expected to drive over a thin layer of sand covering the road but instead found themselves on the sand and in rapidly rising water.

Bryant said the water accumulated under the overpass and reached the top of vehicle tires. Emergency personnel had to wade in knee-deep water to get the stranded folks out, and one woman had to be rescued out of her car sunroof, he said.

Bryant said rumors of a sinkhole at the site — which is near the new housing development Lake Apopka Sound — are untrue.

J.W. Jones and one inside lane of the Turnpike were closed last night. Both are open today, but J.W. Jones still is being cleaned up because of the amount of dirt from the construction site. No injuries were reported.