Building partially collapses in Aurora, Illinois; 3 people hurt, officials say
At least three people were hurt after a building partially collapsed in Aurora, Illinois, Wednesday night.
It happened just after 6:30 p.m. in the 100 block of East Galena Boulevard.
Aurora police said scaffolding and part of a brick building's exterior wall fell onto the roadway.
A car was underneath the scaffolding, but the city said no one was inside the car or the building when it collapsed.
Firefighters evacuated the building as a precaution. Crews also used a drone to assess the upper portion of the building, police said.
Mayor John Laesch, in a video posted to Facebook, said the building had previous structural damage and was working with the building's owner to evaluate structural and engineering plans.
The same building had a few bricks come off last summer and has been under construction for more than a year. Scaffolding had been put up just a few months ago, according to the city.
"The brick was deteriorating, a lot of the grout was going out, so they were doing a lot of tuckpointing," said Josh Alcaraz, director of property standards.
The building was said to become a restaurant on the first floor, and the residential units on the upper floors were vacant. The work was approved by the city.
"We've seen all the scaffolding here for a while and it almost seem like nothing was getting done. So now seeing this scaffolding on the floor, it's kind of crazy because it's like, well, what was all the work really for?" said resident Layza Ceballos.
The three people who were hurt suffered minor injuries and are expected to be OK. It is unclear how they were hurt.
At one point, fire crews began spraying water on the building to prevent more pieces from falling into the road, at which point more pieces fell into the building.
The intersection of Broadway and Galena Boulevard is closed in all four directions. Police are advising the public to avoid the area and use an alternate route.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation.
