Elderly man falls through manhole, trapped in hole overnight

For a couple of hours Wednesday night into Thursday morning, a 66 year old man - trapped in a manhole - wondered if he would ever see the light of another day again. It was about 8 o’clock Wednesday night. Ronald Ervin had just finished playing cards with friends and was walking to store. He decided to walk along the railroad tracks off the 400 block of East Long Avenue in Gastonia. He thought he was about to step on dirt surrounding by rocks.