Water Main Break Sends Asphalt Chunks Through SUV Window

A broken water main damaged a street and sent chunks of asphalt through a sport utility vehicle window during a busy night for utility repair crews in Los Angeles.

Four water main breaks were reported in Silver Lake, Mar Vista, Del Rey and Lynwood. The rupture in Mar Vista damaged Karen Herrador's sport utility vehicle and woke up neighbors, who said the blast sounded like fireworks.

"I was not expecting this," said Herrador. "It's pretty bad. I didn't know what to think."

The pipe break was reported around 3 a.m. Crews shut off the water as they worked to repair the break.

"It was really loud," said neighbor Cherie Detweiler. "I could hear gravel, but I didn't know what it was. It was like a mix of fireworks with water."

The first of four water main breaks overnight was reported around 2 a.m. on Glendale Boulevard in Silver Lake. The water damaged an apartment complex and flooded the apartment office.

Los Angeles' aging water system typically sees an increase in water main breaks when temperatures drop. Colder water from the Sierra Nevada range in Northern California, which provides water for millions of Californians, enters the system, causing pipes to contract, according to the LADWP.

Kevin LaBeach contributed to this report.