Chunk of NYC building 175-feet wide falls onto street, injuring 2 girls: officials
The parapet wall of Plaza Furniture and a few neighboring businesses on Jericho Turnpike near 245th Street in Bellerose partially collapsed around 4:30 p.m. with the pedestrian and girls, ages 11 and 13, sustaining minor injuries, according to the NYPD and the city's Department of Buildings.
'I thought a bomb went off, honestly,' witness Victoria Craig told WABC. 'Honest to God. I thought a bomb went off.'
3 The parapet wall supporting businesses on Jericho Turnpike near 245th Street in Bellerose partially collapsed around 4:30 p.m., officials said.
Peter Gerber
Some debris — including scaffolding surrounding the building — struck a Jeep parked nearby, leaving the 11-year-old rear passenger with back pain and the 13-year-old front seat rider with pain in her right leg, cops said.
A 25-year-old man walking by was also struck and suffered back pain, police said.
A witness told WCBS that the man managed to crawl his way out from under the debris on his own.
3 Two girls, 11 and 13, were hurt when the debris struck a Jeep where they were passengers, cops said.
Peter Gerber
'We just saw that people needed help. I pulled over, and they were trying to move the facade off to make sure there's no one underneath,' witness Jophry Philip said. 'And luckily only one person was underneath. He came out and he was already standing on his own, thank God.'
The girls were taken to Cohen Children's Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition.
The pedestrian was taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he too was listed in stable condition, police said.
3 A 25-year-old man suffered back pain after he was struck by the falling debris, cops said.
Peter Gerber
Responding inspectors from the city's Department of Buildings found that about 175 linear feet of the parapet wall had collapsed onto the sidewalk and street below.
Inspectors also issued violations for failure to maintain the building, and ordered the owner to construct a tight board fence in front of a couple properties adjacent to the furniture store 'to protect the public,' the agency said.
Partial vacate orders were issued for some of those properties.
Inspectors from DOB's Forensic Engineering Unit returned to the scene Thursday to continue the investigation.
Any 'enforcement actions' against the 'parties responsible for the collapse' are pending those investigations, the DOB said.
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