1 Person Injured After Demolition Accident Damages Homes In Mt. Oliver
MT. OLIVER, Pa. (KDKA) -- A woman was injured after a demolition accident brought down a wall into nearby homes in Mt. Oliver on Friday afternoon.
Mt. Oliver Assistant Fire Chief Ron Lowrey says demolition crews were working to bring down an abandoned house on Hays Avenue. A worker was using an excavator to move debris when a wall from the house collapsed and slammed into homes along Ormsby Avenue.
"That exterior wall that was closest to these structures actually let go prematurely," Lowrey said. "It actually fell onto the other houses."
Jazmine Rodriguez's mother was injured in the incident. Rodriguez says the impact from the falling wall was so strong that it brought down part of the ceiling.
"It sounded like an earthquake," she said. "All I heard is my mom screaming. I went in the room and all the stuff was on top of her in the bed. We had to help her off the bed real fast to get the stuff off of her."
Rodriguez says her mother was taken to the hospital with a shoulder injury and is expected to be OK. Along with the damage inside Rodriguez's home, the collapsed wall also left extensive debris on top of multiple homes.
First responders were on the scene for about two hours Friday to assess the damage and clean the debris. Lowrey said the damage to the homes appears to only be cosmetic. The American Red Cross tweeted they provided resources for shelter, clothing and food to two adults and three children related to the incident.
