A New York man with terrible luck fell into a sinkhole teeming with rats and was trapped for a half hour

• A 33-year-old man was walking down a New York sidewalk when it collapsed into a sinkhole full of rats.
• Leonard Shoulders was injured in the fall and and was afraid to open his mouth and call for help because of the rats, his brother told local news.
• He was taken to the hospital nearby fo be treated for a scratched face and several broken bones, the New York Daily News reported.

A New York man standing on a sidewalk in the Bronx succumbed to a disaster that no decent person would wish on their worst enemy.

Leonard Shoulders, 33, was swallowed up into a sinkhole full of rats.

Shoulders was waiting for an MTA bus at 3rd Ave. near 183rd St. on Saturday with his mother when the incident occurred.

"As he was falling, he scraped his face, broke his arm and broke his leg," his brother, Greg White, 22, told The New York Daily News on Monday.

Shoulders' mother, Cindy White, told NBC 4 New York that despite the incredibly harrowing situation, Shoulders refused to scream; he was concerned that the mischief of rats might try to get into his mouth. "He couldn't move, and the rats were crawling all over him," she said.

Shoulders remained trapped in the objectively hellish situation for about 30 minutes until he was rescued by firefighters and taken to a nearby hospital, The News reported.

"He was like, 'Ma, the rats down there were ridiculous,'" Cindy White told the outlet. "He was like, 'They were like so big.'"

Earlier this year, Insider's Kelly McLaughlin reported that the coronavirus outbreak and related shutdowns could lead to a more aggressive, cannibalistic breed of rats ready to take on the second wave of the pandemic.

Insider was unable to immediately reach Shoulders or his family on Thursday.

The New York City Buildings Department issued a full vacate order to the building next to the sinkhole, according to The Daily News.

• Read more:
• Hungry rats may turn to cannibalism during the coronavirus outbreak, and it could lead to a breed of aggressive, resilient rats in the future
• These Are The Places You Are Most Likely To Be Swallowed By A Sinkhole
• A New York City subway rat was filmed stocking up on a McMuffin feast during the coronavirus pandemic