Aug 28, 2008 1:59 pm US/Pacific
16 Hurt In Scaffolding Collapse In San Diego
SAN DIEGO (AP) ―
A block-long construction scaffold collapsed Thursday, injuring 16 pedestrians who were walking under the street level barrier, fire officials said. Injuries to three of the people were life-threatening.
"The walls started moving, then the bang. Everything started coming down. Everyone started screaming," said Abigail Reckermann, 50, who went to the hospital with a swollen ankle.
She was one of about 25 people in the wooden walkway next to a three- story building under construction in downtown San Diego when the scaffolding fell.
Father Joe Carroll, president of St. Vincent de Paul Village, said many of those injured had just eaten lunch or were living at the homeless shelter he runs across the street. The shelter had served lunch to about 1,000 people.
Fire spokesman Daniel Calderon said investigators at the scene did not know what caused the collapse.
"All we know is the walkway collapsed on people who were using it," said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Ariel Medina, 34, was uninjured but saw a board fall onto the back of a man she was talking with.
"It was a living nightmare," Medina said. "The whole thing just caved in. People were trapped."
A sign seen in the debris identified Allgire General Contractors in Carlsbad as the builder. A woman who took a call at Allgire's offices said she could not comment then hung up the phone.
Ambulances and fire trucks converged on the scene.
The collapse occurred in downtown's East Village, the site of numerous construction and redevelopment projects.
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