- A 15-story garage in NY partially collapsed, damaging several cars.
- Around 600 vehicles remain trapped as crews stabilize the structure.
- Officials said the 50-year-old structure was undergoing repair work.
Parking garages aren’t always the safest place to leave a car, but it’s break-ins or scams that most are worried about. In White Plains, New York, hundreds who parked in one parking garage this week are now stuck without access to their cars, and it’s not because of theft.
It’s because a large section of the structure collapsed onto the level beneath it, crushing cars and cutting off the exit for the rest of them.
Structural Failure or Structural Fatigue?
The incident took place on Wednesday morning at the 15-story privately owned parking structure on Hale Avenue, near the Westchester One office tower. According to city officials, a portion of the fifth floor gave way around 9 a.m., sending concrete and debris crashing onto the levels below.
Aerial photos showed a jagged hole through the center of the roof, with at least half a dozen vehicles visibly crushed in the wreckage.
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Miraculously, no injuries were reported. “If it was 8:30 in the morning, who knows what would have happened,” said White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong to NBC New York, noting the collapse occurred just after the morning rush.
Crews from multiple departments, including the Yonkers Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, responded to stabilize the building and search for anyone possibly trapped.
How Do You Clear 600 Cars?
After several hours of shoring up compromised areas, the structure was deemed too unstable for most occupants to retrieve their vehicles. Officials estimate roughly 600 cars remain inside, with the recovery process expected to take days.
Photos Yonkers Fire Department / Facebook
That process is going to be slow because authorities expect to do it in stages. They’ll remove some cars, check to ensure stability of the structure, remove more cars, and repeat that process until everything is out.
One office worker with a car stranded on the fourth floor said that their employer has been “really generous,” providing Uber vouchers and flexible work-from-home arrangements while they wait for updates. “I’m hoping to hear about moving the car tomorrow,” they said.
A cause for the collapse is unknown currently but officials did say that the nearly 50-year-old building was undergoing extensive concrete restoration before the incident.