DURHAM, NC (WNCN) – A father of three from North Carolina is recovering after his SUV fell into a weather-related sinkhole that emerged Sunday.

Robert Belcher said he was driving home from Walmart around 10pm when his SUV went into the sinkhole.

He said he was fighting for his life just moments later as his vehicle began to float away.

“I was like, ‘I’m about to die. This is how I’m going to die,'” Belcher said.

His vehicle flipped over into a creek along Glenn Road somewhere between Club Boulevard and Bundy Avenue.

“I didn’t know there was a break off. I thought it was a bump. So I slow down. When I slid down, that was it. I was right on it and the truck slid in there and went straight down,” Belcher said.

Belcher received numerous injuries during the crash.

“I got a cut on my tongue, I bit my tongue, it feels horrible. Then I got these cuts on my fingers, these cuts on my arms. My neck is sore, my back, and I got a broken ankle,” he said.

Belcher said it was so dark out that the washed out road looked like a puddle he could drive through.

“I felt the truck flip over and then the next thing I know, I felt it flip a few times, I’m all over the place, but I’m in my seat belt. I think that’s why I got beat up so bad,” Belcher said.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials say they’ve determined that flash flooding caused the sinkhole.

Authorities say several vehicles incurred damage because of the sinkhole.

The sinkhole is described as being 15 to 20 feet deep.

The road will remain closed through mid to late September, officials say.

Bridge maintenance crews with NCDOT will replace the culvert.