Metal Piece Falls From Midtown Building, Strikes Two Pedestrians
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two pedestrians were hospitalized Wednesday after being struck by falling debris in Midtown Manhattan.
The incident occurred at Seventh Avenue and West 48th Street near the M&M's World store around 8:45 a.m.
The workers were on a suspended scaffold over the public sidewalk, according to the Department Of Buildings. One of the workers dropped the thin, 10-foot-long piece of metal that was wet from light rain, officials said.
The debris struck two tour bus company workers, 1010 WINS' Derricke Dennis reported.
The two victims, who investigators say work for Big Bus New York, were taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where they are being treated for head and neck injuries, CBS 2's Don Champion reported.
One witness told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell that he heard someone screaming from above, "Watch out, something's falling!" before the metal piece came crashing down to the pavement.
"I heard the guy, but he was so far up there," Mario Diaz said." Even if I would've looked up, I would have no chance to move.
"When I looked, the piece disappeared basically, because it bounced. And once it bounced, it hit two of my friends who were standing here on the corner."
"I barely heard what they were saying because it was so high up," the man said. "A metal piece just came straight down and hit right in front of me."
Marcus Edwards, from Charlotte, North Carolina, walked by the scene just after it happened.
"It could've been worse," Edwards said. "Kids could've gotten hurt. It could've been ugly. It could've been me."
"I would not be too thrilled to be hit by that," said tourist Roxanne Clausen, of South Dakota. "Very scary."
"It was pretty scary," Diaz said. "I'm still nervous.
"If it would have hit any of them straight down, shoulder or head, it would definitely have killed them," he added.
An Environmental Control Board violation will be issued for failure to protect the public and property, the Buildings Department said.
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