Kaipo Honda / Reuters Velma Deluz's pickup truck sits in a sinkhole-like crater Monday after a road collapsed near Paauilo on the big island of Hawaii.

A Hawaii woman was thankful to be alive Tuesday after an enormous sinkhole opened up and swallowed her pickup truck — with her still inside.

Velma Deluz of Paauilo was driving to work on the Big Island after a weekend of major rainstorms when Pohakea Mauka Road shifted and gave way Monday morning, the state's civil defense office said.

"When I made the turn, the road just sucked me right in, and then I just fell in," Deluz told NBC station KHNL of Honolulu. "I tried to climb out through the window because it fell on its side."

Deluz said she suffered minor rib injuries but was otherwise all right.

The driving rains continued throughout the day Monday, setting a Dec. 30 record of 5.51 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

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