DESOTO, Ill. (WJPF) – Warning signs and barricades weren’t enough to keep one person from driving into a sinkhole that swallowed up a portion of US 51, north of De Soto.

The accident happened around 6:40 p.m. Sunday. The driver was taken to a local hospital.

The sinkhole caused transportation officials to close the affected portion of US 51 Thursday night. Officials say it could take as long as three weeks to make the road safe for travel again.