johnnymk
12-06-2007, 12:47 PM
Take a look at the car. It appears that only the hood is crumpled. But the witness said the car was going like a rocket. If it were going really fast, the car would be totalled. And it caused the floor to collapse?
http://www.charlotte.com/590/story/393869.html
http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2007/12/06/12/69-1206parkingpic2.embedded.prod_affiliate.57.jpg
One dead after part of SouthPark parking deck collapses:
A witness said a woman trying to enter a parking deck at SouthPark mall today hit a wall at high speed, causing a partial collapse of the deck.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, said Mecklenburg EMS Agency spokesman Eric Morrison. Authorities said there were no other injuries.
"I think it's miraculous, quite honest, given what happened, that there are no other confirmed injuries," Hill said.
A portion of the third level of the deck between Nieman Marcus and Nordstrom, facing Sharon Road, collapsed onto the second level.
Rod Hodnett said he was on the deck when he saw a green Hyundai, driven by an older woman, stuck on a curb at the entrance to the third level. The car was at first unable to move, she said, then shot forward across the length of the deck.
"She just went like a rocket," Hodnett said. "She just came off and hit the wall and the entire thing collapsed."
Hodnett, who moved to help the woman get her car off the curb, said the woman clutched her chest before the accident. "I think she maybe mistook the gas for the brake."
He rushed to the Hyundai again after the crash, and saw the woman slumped inside.
Portions of the deck were closed off at 1 p.m., but the mall was still open. At least four firetrucks, several paramedic trucks and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Mobile Command Post was at the scene.
Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Rob Brisley said two cars under the collapse were destroyed. He said investigators are now working to identify the cause of the collapse and determine whether the deck is stable.
The Associated Press contributed
http://www.charlotte.com/590/story/393869.html
http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2007/12/06/12/69-1206parkingpic2.embedded.prod_affiliate.57.jpg
One dead after part of SouthPark parking deck collapses:
A witness said a woman trying to enter a parking deck at SouthPark mall today hit a wall at high speed, causing a partial collapse of the deck.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, said Mecklenburg EMS Agency spokesman Eric Morrison. Authorities said there were no other injuries.
"I think it's miraculous, quite honest, given what happened, that there are no other confirmed injuries," Hill said.
A portion of the third level of the deck between Nieman Marcus and Nordstrom, facing Sharon Road, collapsed onto the second level.
Rod Hodnett said he was on the deck when he saw a green Hyundai, driven by an older woman, stuck on a curb at the entrance to the third level. The car was at first unable to move, she said, then shot forward across the length of the deck.
"She just went like a rocket," Hodnett said. "She just came off and hit the wall and the entire thing collapsed."
Hodnett, who moved to help the woman get her car off the curb, said the woman clutched her chest before the accident. "I think she maybe mistook the gas for the brake."
He rushed to the Hyundai again after the crash, and saw the woman slumped inside.
Portions of the deck were closed off at 1 p.m., but the mall was still open. At least four firetrucks, several paramedic trucks and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Mobile Command Post was at the scene.
Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Rob Brisley said two cars under the collapse were destroyed. He said investigators are now working to identify the cause of the collapse and determine whether the deck is stable.
The Associated Press contributed