Moment Bronx man, 33, falls 15ft through sidewalk 'sinkhole' and is 'swarmed by so many rats he couldn't yell for help for fear they would crawl in his mouth'

A Bronx man was left horrified when he fell more than a dozen feet into a sinkhole that was swarming with rats, making it difficult for him to even open his mouth and call for help out of fear that the rodents would get in his mouth. 

Leonard Shoulders, 33, had been waiting on a bus at 3rd Avenue across from Saint Barnabas Hospital on Saturday when the sidewalk caved in. 

'It could have been anyone. It could have been anyone it was a whole scary situation. It was my son and thank God he's alive,' Cindy White, the man's mother, explained to NBC New York. 

Leonard Shoulders, 33, had been waiting on a bus at 3rd Avenue across from Saint Barnabas Hospital on Saturday when the sidewalk caved in.

Surveillance footage shows the moment that Shoulders falls into the sidewalk, trying to hold on and ultimately plummet 12 to 15ft. 

'He went down feet first,' White added. 'He was just standing and the sidewalk just -- It was like a suction. Like a sinkhole. He just went down.' 

'He is traumatized. He said he went straight down. He said he was just falling, falling. But the debris was falling and hitting him in the head,' 

The area where the bus stop is located in the Bronx

Surveillance footage shows the moment that Shoulders falls into the sidewalk, trying to hold on and ultimately plummet 12 to 15ft.

Shoulders refused to scream for help, fearing the rats in the hole would fill into his mouth. 

'He was like, "Ma, the rats down there were ridiculous." He was like, "they were like so big." He was scared to yell out because he thought they were gonna go in his mouth,' Cindy White, his mother, shared

'He was like, "Ma, the rats down there were ridiculous." He was like, "they were like so big." He was scared to yell out because he thought they were gonna go in his mouth,' White said. 

After nearly half an hour of waiting, firefighters and police arrived to the scene and retrieved Shoulders. 

A temporary fence is up while crews work to fix the hole. Three businesses in the area have had to close as well while the hole is fixed. 

The Department of Buildings is investigating the incident. 

'Potential enforcement actions are pending the results of that investigation,' the DOB said.

'The Full Vacate Order is still in effect, and a construction fence has been erected around the building in the interest of public safety.'