Hallandale Beach mother, 6 children barely escape before roof partially collapses
HALLANDALE BEACH - A woman and her six children barely made it out before the roof of their Hallandale Beach apartment partially collapsed.
It happened early Tuesday morning on NE 2 Street just west of NE 10 Avenue.
The morning's heavy rain along with mold and termite damage to the wooden rafters contributed to the collapse.
Tkyana Bryant said she had just gotten home from work when she heard an unsettling sound from the room where her six children were sleeping.
"I literally came home from work, 12 hours, and I heard the beam cracking and that's made me take my kids out of there or we would've still been in there," she said.
Bryant said as she heard the beams crack one by one, she started pulling the children out of the room. It wasn't until the last child was out that the roof caved in.
"I got everybody out before it started dropping. My son, my last son, was the one, literally the one, I was pulling out as it was coming down," Bryant said.
The damage from the collapse spans the entire side of the apartment building.
Bryant said she has been dealing with the roof issue for years and has tried to get it fixed.
"I don't get Section 8, I don't get none of that, I go to work to pay my rent every month. Every month I go to work to pay my rent and this is what I get," Bryant said through tears. "I could have lost my kids. We sleep in the living room, I could have lost my kids."
The American Red Cross is assisting Bryant and her family.