What began as an ordinary afternoon on West Third Street in Greenville, North Carolina quickly spiraled into a viral cautionary tale laced with racism, mockery, and a dose of instant karma that’s now been viewed over 3 million times.
Jah Love, a local resident, was driving near the intersection of West Third and South Pitt Street last Saturday (July 26) when he noticed the pavement underneath his car shifting. Realizing something was seriously wrong, he pulled over and saw water surging out from below the street.
A sinkhole was forming, and fast.
Seeing a pickup truck approaching, Love tried desperately to warn the driver by waving, but the man ignored him, flipped him off, and promptly plummeted nose-first into the sinkhole—all because of Love’s race.
A man went viral for trying to warn a driver of a sinkhole in the road, only to get flipped off due to his race
Image credits: Jah Lovee/Facebook
“I parked my car and I saw the water, the road buckling, everything,” Love said in the now-viral Facebook Live video. “So I moved the detour sign closer and started trying to wave people down to keep them safe.”
“I tried to stop you, boss man,” Love is heard saying in the video following the accident, watching the vehicle get swallowed by the earth.
Image credits: WITN
The situation only worsened after the man was pulled out. After being rescued by a tow truck, the driver didn’t thank Love—or anyone else for that matter. Instead, he doubled down with an unexpected racially charged remark, blaming Love’s skin color for why he didn’t heed the warning.
Image credits: vanillak.queen.vee
“I don’t want to be rude or anything else,” the man explained himself. “But when a fellow of your color jumps out in front of me and starts waving at my truck…”
The backlash online was swift and unforgiving, with several comments filling Love’s live feed with comments criticizing the driver for his actions and celebrating the delivery of “instant karma.”
Love said helping the man was more important to him than feeling offended, hoping for nothing more than an apology
Image credits: WITN
“You’re a good man for trying to help others,” a viewer wrote to Love. “Your character tells more than any color ever can.”
On the other hand, Love, reflecting on the moment, admitted he was too focused on preventing injury to immediately process the hateful comment.
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“To be real… I was so focused on him not hurting himself, I really didn’t pay it no mind until I started looking at the comments on my live,” he said.
“Even though he stuck his finger up at me, even if he would’ve went down some more, I would’ve probably still tried to help him.”
Image credits: WITN
Despite the blatant disrespect, Love said that helping the man was the only thing that mattered at that moment. “No matter the color or race, I always still try to help somebody,” he said, only requesting an admission of guilt by the driver in return.
“I feel like I need an apology.”
Conflicting reports have arisen regarding whether the driver apologized to Love
Image credits: WITN
A bystander, Vanilla Adams, confirmed the events.
“We waved him down and tried to prevent him from turning down this way,” she told WITN News. “But you know, he stuck his middle finger and kept going. After he kept going, the car sank in.”
Image credits: Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey
Conflicting reports have arisen regarding whether the driver apologized to Love. Local outlets mentioned that the man may have offered some form of apology after being rescued from the sinkhole—a fact that Adams confirmed—but Love himself said no such apology was ever directed specifically at him.
Image credits: Vanillak Adams/Facebook
The apology was never confirmed. But for the internet, the immediate comeuppance the driver faced was more than enough.
“Don’t wait for an apology. Your blessing will come from God,” a user wrote.
“We all bleed the same color,” added another. “Maybe fate gave you what you deserved.”
Image credits: WITN
Beneath the drama, however, was a very real infrastructure failure that could have been fatal. According to Greenville Utilities, the sinkhole was caused by a water main break that ruptured underneath West Third Street.
Image credits: WITN-TV
Water began leaking rapidly downhill, weakening the soil and hollowing out the roadway until it finally collapsed.
By Sunday afternoon, the water main itself had been repaired, but the road remained closed while the city worked on repairs.
“Serves him right!” Apology or not, netizens celebrated what they saw as instant payback
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