CLEVELAND — Brandy Blackmon said her son fell into a hole while walking home one day. She said construction crews dug it up and never came back to fix it.
"He thought he was ok," Blackmon said of her son. "He was walking across the street, and it was winter time. He was trying to get home."
Blackmon said crews started working along Steve Harvey Way, otherwise known as East 112th Street, last summer. She said crews dug up the road and left without making repairs, including a hole near the sidewalk and damage to a neighbor's yard.
She said her son was pulled out and was not hurt.
Blackmon also said the hole had gotten deeper.
Now, she wants the city, the contractor, or whoever is in charge of the project to clean it up.
"I'm even more concerned because it's even more dangerous because you left it open," Blackmon said. "It could become another sinkhole. Another kid could fall through it, and that's what I'm trying to stop."
After meeting with Blackmon in early May, News 5's Caitlin Hunt got to work to find out who was in charge of the project.
Hunt reached out to Cleveland Water via email, asking if they had completed work in the area and when work would be finished. Cleveland Water responded, saying it completed the necessary work on its end, and the contractor would need to complete the rest.
Hunt reached out to Blackmon's city council member, Kevin Conwell. He stepped in and connected Hunt with Cleveland's Division of Streets, which helped move things forward. Within two weeks, city crews paved the street.
The city said the work was done for safety reasons.
In an email, the city identified the contractor as Clear Path Solutions.
The city's street division shared an email thread showing they had notified the contractor of the needed repairs and set a Memorial Day deadline.
Hunt checked on the hole on Friday, May 29, days after Memorial Day.
Boards had been placed over the hole, but it was still not fixed.
Multiple emails were sent to Clear Path Solutions, and Hunt also called the contractor. Clear Path Solutions has not responded to either.
Blackmon said she has a direct message for them.
"Fix it," she said. "You know you did it. You know it needs to be fixed. I don't care what kind of money, what kind of contract you've got going on. Come fix it."
We'll continue to follow through.
