2nd Seffner Sinkhole Under Investigation as Stabilization Work Continues

A second sinkhole has been reported in Seffner, less than 2 miles from the "unprecedented" sinkhole that claimed the life of Jeffrey Bush, 36, at 240 Faithway Drive, where stabilzation work continues today, March 5.

Three homes have been condemned after that sinkhole opened up and swallowed Bush as he awoke with a start in the back bedroom Feb. 28, shortly before 11 p.m.

Demolition was completed March 4 at the house at 240 Faithway Drive, owned by Leland Buddy Wicker. Neon-orange "vacate" signs were visible on homes on either side of that structure as the demolition work got under way for a second, and final, day.

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill alerted Hillsborough County Commissioners of the newest sinkhole, which straddles across a fence behind a private property on Cedar Tree Lane.

• Update: The sinkhole is 12- to 13-feet wide and about 5-feet deep and rests in the center of the backyard of two houses, at 1204 and 1206 Cedar Tree Lane, according to a TBO.com report, which includes an interview with Ana Maria Serna, at 1260, and a woman identified only as "Donna," who reportedly lives at the second home. Hillsborough County spokesperson Willie Puz is quoted as saying, "This is a depression in the back, it's a brand new, evolving thing." For more, see the report at TBO.com.

"I have learned that one additional sinkhole opened in the Seffner area today," Merrill wrote in a March 4 letter to commissioners. "The sinkhole occurred on private property and has caused no known danger to the property residents. This latest sinkhole is located approximately 1.5 miles from the sinkhole that opened last week, Thursday, at 240 Faithway in Seffner. "

Merrill noted as well that a sinkhole had been reported in Largo, by the Largo mall.

Ross McGillivray, of Ardaman & Associates, is the county's geotechnical consultant on the Seffner sinkhole incident on Faithway Drive.

"It is his opinion that this latest sinkhole in Hillsborough County is not related to the one that occurred at Faithway," Merrill said. "And, like the sinkhole in Largo, is most likely coincidental in timing and seasonally linked rather than geologically linked."

Both the stabilization efforts at Faithway Drive and the investigation of the newest discovered sinkhole in Seffner are ongoing.

An ABC News report at 5:49 p.m. last night noted that the sinkhole had been described as "5-feet deep and 10- to-12 feet wide."

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BRANDON PATCH SEFFNER SINKHOLE COVERAGE (Through March 6):

• HuffPost Live Looks at Seffner Sinkhole Tragedy: 'Saving Us From Sinkholes'

• Seffner Sinkhole Video: 'In a Flash It Happens and the Whole World's Changed'

• Video: Final Walls Come Down on Seffner Sinkhole at 240 Faithway Drive

• 2nd Seffner Sinkhole Under Investigation as Stabilization Work Continues

• Seffner Sinkhole Homeowner: 'God Has a Plan'
  

• Seffner Sinkhole Victim Officially 'Presumed' Deceased

• Readers React to Seffner Sinkhole Tragedy

• Family Treasures Salvaged from Seffner Sinkhole Demolition
  

• Demolition Under Way at Seffner Sinkhole Site

• More Photos From the Seffner Sinkhole Site

• Seffner Sinkhole Operation Readies for Impending Demolition

• 3rd Home 'Compromised' at Seffner Sinkhole Site; Relief Fund Established

• Video: Deputy Douglas Duvall Recounts Seffner Sinkhole Heroics

• Situation 'Extremely Unsafe' at Seffner Sinkhole Site

• Family Member Recalls Horror of Seffner Sinkhole Tragedy

• Photos From the Scene of Sinkhole in Seffner

• Video: Hillsborough Fire Chief Discusses Seffner Sinkhole

• Hillsborough County Among Top 10 Sinkhole-Prone Florida Counties

• Update: Sinkhole Swallows Seffner Man Sleeping in Bed

• Video of Deputy Who Worked To Save Men From Sinkhole 
  

• Video: Man Could Hear His Brother Screaming

• Video: Fire Chief Answers Questions             

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