Crazy storm has streets of Los Angeles swallowing cars whole

Californians this weekend captured harrowing scenes of cars stuck in sinkholes, trucks toppling off a crumbling highway and muddy waters rushing through the streets of Los Angeles.

The Golden State is grappling with yet another punishing wave of atmospheric river storms, which dump vast amounts of rain in narrow corridors over a short period of time.

Drought-busting storms slammed Southern California cities on Friday and Saturday, killing at least two people and knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents.

Dangerous and "excessive rainfall" is expected to target Northern California next, putting even more pressure on water infrastructure like the Oroville Dam.

In the Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City, torrential rains pummeled the roads on Friday night, causing a 20-foot sinkhole to open on Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

One car fell in trunk-first, with its headlights peeping out of the hole. A second car plunged in and landed on its side. 

The drivers of both vehicles escaped relatively unharmed, the L.A. Fire Department reported.

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In San Bernardino County, a big rig and a fire truck rolled off the edge of Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. A 200-foot-long portion of the southbound freeway had collapsed, putting the trucks in peril.

Fortunately, all passengers on both vehicles escaped before the rig and fire engine plunged into the creek bed below, the San Bernardino County Fire Department confirmed.

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Rescue crews on Friday night said they recovered a body from a vehicle stuck in floodwaters near Pebble Beach. The driver of a second vehicle was saved after standing atop his car and flagging down the rescue helicopter.

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In San Bernardino, a landslide the size of three football fields brought snow, rock, soil and timber tumbling down the side of a mountain.

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