Amazing moment passersby lifts a luxury SUV out of a manhole in New York City

• A man’s luxury Jeep crashed into an open manhole in New York City’s Chinatown
• And he couldn’t find the 4WD mode button
• Passers-by succeeded in removing the car from the open manhole and putting the cover back in place

Bystanders banded together to help a man who couldn’t find the four-wheel drive button on his Jeep Wrangler, priced between $32,000 and $80,000, after it fell into an open manhole in New York City’s Chinatown.

A man realized he was in trouble after crashing his luxury Jeep into an open manhole and unable to find the four-wheel drive mode button on Saturday. A video on TikTok shows that the left front wheel was completely stuck in the manhole and the car owner had no idea what to do.

“You’re not getting out of there until you put it in four-wheel drive,” said a man with a ponytail. He and other passersby decided to help, saying: “Everyone pay.”

Three women came forward and pushed from the hood while the other four tried to rescue the car from the left side. Together they successfully lifted the Jeep out while a nearby crowd exploded in applause.

They also helped put the manhole cover back in place. It is still unknown how the manhole cover was dislodged.

The audience cheered and applauded. The car owner was seen in the video shaking hands with his assistants and thanking them for their assistance. As he was about to leave, the caption on the video read, “Still doesn’t know where the 4WD button is.”

The video posted by @mrmarcoandre attracted nearly 100,000 views and thousands of comments and likes. Most liked comment: “I love supportive strangers.”

“I love how everyone came together to help this person. YES!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️,” says another in the comments.

Many people also wondered why the manhole was left uncovered and how the accident occurred in the first place.

Some were also surprised that the car owner who modified his Jeep and put a “crawler” sticker did not know where the four-wheel drive button was. “Bro has a light bar, off-road bumper and a ‘creeper’ sticker, but can’t find the 4wd transmission,” one review says.

Manholes without a cover can damage a vehicle and sometimes be life-threatening.

Shea Ryan, 10, fell to his death in a pit after a contractor failed to implement health and safety measures at a construction site near a theme park, a court heard.

The boy suffered a serious head injury after falling more than 20 feet into the water at the bottom of the exposed manhole in July 2020. He was able to enter the site because the fence surrounding it was not secure.

Earlier this year, Jonathan Vaimauna, 36, was rescued from a sewer in Sin City, Thailand, after falling into an open manhole on his way back to his hotel.

He later said he could not remember the name of the hotel he stayed at with his girlfriend, describing it only as “the hotel with the boats.”