(Newser) – It's still unclear what caused a warehouse floor to collapse in New Jersey yesterday, ABC 7 notes, but it seems a forklift may have saved its driver's life. As Danny Rodriguez was operating the vehicle, a hole opened below him and he fell—apparently into a mix of cooking oil and soy sauce. "Fortunately for the operator, the forklift went straight down and didn’t tip to the side because then he could have really been hurt," a police rep says, per the Record.

Rodriguez was taken to the hospital after a trucker for a nearby business found him "frantic" and "covered in oil and fluid from the waist down." The hole, according to witnesses, was between six and 10 feet deep and nearly 40 feet wide. While some reports point to a possible sinkhole, it may not be a geological phenomenon: The property manager says he believes it's just a forgotten basement under the warehouse, which reportedly stores oil, soy sauce, and other non-perishable foods. Now, officials have declared the area unsafe and evacuated nearby units, pending inspection. (Read more strange stuff stories.)

