Manhole explodes and nearly takes out woman with two grandkids on sidewalk

Jessica Kwong

Published April 22, 2025 6:28pm Updated April 22, 2025 8:24pm

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A series of sudden manhole explosions narrowly missed a grandmother and her two grandchildren leaving an Easter egg hunt.

Lisa Davis was pushing a stroller with one of her grandkids and walking alongside the other one around 1.30pm on Sunday when part of the sidewalk behind her erupted with the cover and dust seeping out of the cracked ground.

CCTV footage shows a frightened Davis and the children running away after nearly being taken out by the manhole blast on Academy Street between Church and Cannon streets in Poughkeepsie, New York.

‘I was like, “oh my God, I don’t know,”‘ Davis told ABC 7. ‘I didn’t know where to go.’

Exploding manhole cover nearly takes out woman pushing stroller with two grandkids — The manholes exploded on a sidewalk in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York (Picture: City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department)

One blast wasn’t all to it, though. Davis said that at least two more manholes exploded.

‘I couldn’t really run straight ahead of me to the corner because the manhole at the next corner blew up, too,’ she said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene minutes later and determined that the manhole explosions were caused by high gas levels under the pavement. The scene was clear by shortly after 3.45pm, News10 reported.

Authorities investigating the incident also reportedly discovered high carbon monoxide levels in several buildings in the area and residents were evacuated until the gas levels were addressed, according to the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department.

When Davis watched the video shared by the fire department, she realized she was within ‘one foot of losing my family’.