Two people were injured when a parking garage at the Broward courthouse complex collapsed Wednesday.
At 4:18 p.m., authorities responded to an unexpected collpase of afour-story garage at 201 SE 6th Street. Workers had begun to demolish the garage, authorities said.
"The whole street filled with dust and the ground shook and it was loud," said Willie Banks, who witnessed the collapse. "I have never seen a building collapse like that."
Fire Rescue said the building was motly intact in the morning, but by the afternoon al four floors were crumbled to the ground. The two people suffered minor abrasions and there was no collateral damage, officials said.
One of the injured was a security worker guarding the site was slightly injured. He was transported to Broward Health.
Heavy dust blanketed nearby cars and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department secured the site. The 200 block of SE 6th Street was closed to traffic.
"The garage is part of a secure construction site operated by James A. Cummings, Inc. The building was under demolition as part of the new courthouse construction project. Portions of the garage had already been removed, including those that were attached to the Central and West sections of the Main Courthouse. Explosives are not being used in the demolition process," the county said in an email statement.
Geoff Bunnell, general contractor over the project, said "Nothing like this has happened before,no."
