Five injured after scaffolding collapses, trapping pedestrians in SoHo
BY Byron Smith Laura Dimon
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Sunday, November 19, 2017, 3:10 PM
Five people were trapped under a pile of scaffolding in SoHo on Sunday when heavy winds collapsed a sidewalk shed, witnesses and officials said.
Emergency workers pulled the pedestrians from the giant pile of metal rods and wood panels at Broadway and Prince St. at about 11:40 a.m., according to photos posted on social media.
“Scaffolding fell down at Broadway and Prince,” posted Twitter user @antinomia. “FDNY rescuing people from underneath. I walked under this just 15 minutes ago.”
An FDNY official blamed wind gusts for the scaffolding falling down.
Scaffolding collapsed at the corner of Prince St. and Broadway in Manhattan on Sunday. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)
“There were a couple of pedestrians buried in debris. Units were here in two minutes and we were able to get them out quickly,” Deputy Chief Chris Boyle said at the scene.
Medics took the three women and two men to Bellevue Hospital. Two victims were in serious but stable condition, while the other three suffered minor injuries, according to the FDNY.
Boyle said the sidewalk shed was 20 feet tall.
“The exterior plywood panels acted as a sail and it blew the shed over,” he said, adding it was “very fortunate to only have five injuries.”
Scaffold collapses in SoHo
Employees at the Artists and Fleas market on the corner were shocked as they watched the scaffolding fall.
“The scaffold moved forward and basically crushed her,” said William Alston, 30. “No wind can do that. It wasn’t put on right, or it’s just weak.”
Jonathan Mejia, 31, said he saw the scaffolding cascade down and rushed to help one of the women buried under debris.
“I saw it coming down so I kind of looked out and saw someone under and ran out and started throwing things out,” he recalled. “Then I saw her, and she said ‘What happened?’
Emergency workers assist a woman after a scaffolding collapse in SoHo. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)
“She had a slash and her head was cracked open,” he added. “Her hip looked out of place and it looked like her leg was broken.”
Michiko C., of Queens, got stitches on both legs after she was hit by a piece of flying metal. She was pushing her 3-year-old daughter in a stroller when the shed came crashing down. Her toddler was somehow spared injury.
The collapse was caused by heavy winds and by unsecured scaffolding. (Courtney Davis)
Her husband, Steven C., was angry.
“I’m flipping out, I’m upset, man,” he told the Daily News. “She’s trying to take it lightly, like she said ‘It was kind of windy.’ I told her these things are supposed to be built strong,” he fumed. “They wouldn’t allow people to go under there if it wasn’t.”
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Sunday, November 19, 2017 11:26PM
SOHO, Manhattan (WABC) -- Six people were hurt after scaffolding collapsed into the street in Lower Manhattan Sunday morning.
The incident happened just after 11:30 a.m. near the intersection of Broadway and Prince in SoHo.
Pictures from the scene show wooden planks all over the street, and FDNY firefighters at the scene.
(Photo/@ariane321 via Twitter)
FDNY officials said "we're absolutely lucky" there aren't more injured in this busy neighborhood. There is a subway stop right at the intersection, and the area was packed with people out enjoying their Sunday morning.
Investigators said strong wind is to blame for the collapse. A piece of plywood "acted like a sail" and blew the whole rig down.
Two people had to be rescued from under the rubble. They and three others were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor, non-life threatening injuries