The Bexar County Sheriff's department has confirmed an off duty deputy was killed when the car she was driving plunged into a large sinkhole in the US city of San Antonio.
A 60-year-old man also had to be rescued after the car he was driving also became submerged in the sinkhole, which opened up after a large sewer line ruptured in the Texas city on Sunday night.
The sheriff's office said 69-year-old Deputy Dora Linda Nishihara was a courthouse bailiff and had been with the department since 2009.
A crane had to be used to retrieve the car Ms Nishihara had been driving, which had fallen into water 3.6 metres deep.
San Antonio Fire Battalion Chief Brian O'Neil has told the Express-News that a woman sustained minor injuries when she rescued the man who drove into the sinkhole.
Chief O'Neil said the man and woman were taken to the hospital and were "in good shape".
Officials were trying to figure out a way to stop the flow of the sewer line to allow emergency crews to get through.
The San Antonio Water System reported there had been four other sewer spill overflows on Sunday.
- with AAP
