NEW YORK (SONNA) — A parking garage collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattan’s Financial District, killing one worker, injuring five and crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, officials said.
Vehicles tumbled into what looked like a frozen stream of sedans and SUVs. People nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams.
Ahmed Scott arrived to collect his car after work and found a disaster in the making.
In a video he shot from across the street, someone off-camera yells, “Guard! 911! 911! There’s a building collapsing on Ann Street,” followed by the sound of something crumpling. About 45 seconds later, two women run out, saying the building fell while they were inside it. A man stands on a fire escape as bystanders try to figure out how to help him get down. He eventually did, Scott said.
“I hope ain’t nobody else in there,” Scott recalled thinking, worrying for the garage workers he’d gotten to know.
To Jadess Speller, a student at nearby Pace University, the collapse “felt like an earthquake — like the earth opened up inside, like that’s how violent it was.” Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.
One vehicle landed on its end in the garage entrance, a photo posted by Mayor Eric Adams’ office showed.
Source: AP