School Bus Damaged By Partial Building Collapse In Phila.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Emergency crews responded to the scene of a partial building collapse in Philadelphia Thursday morning.
Police say it happened at about 9:05 a.m. at the 400 block of Race Street.
Police says part of a wall collapsed, falling onto a tree and light post that fell onto a passing school bus. There were no students on the bus.
"Obviously it's a concern because of what happened here. They had things in place to avoid this, and apparently they weren't adequate enough," says Philadelphia Police Captain Brian Korn.
The bus driver, Spencer Reynolds, had just dropped off a group of fifth graders from Vernfield Elementary, from Souderton School District, at the National Constitution Center.
"There are four, five, six windows busted in, frames sticking inside, glass all over the seats. I had stones flying all over the steering wheel while I was getting out of the way," Reynolds says.
He says he saw the barricades up, and crews directed him to the left side of the street, right by the site, then the large debris fell.
Licenses and Inspections did 19 discretionary inspections since January at the site, formerly the Whitman Chocolate Factory. They found one violation for a missing sign, which was quickly remedied.
The contractors had to get L&I's approval for a safety plan that details how much of the sidewalk they would close, plus provide a time frame and details of the demolition, which was all OK'd.
Spokeswoman Karen Guss says, "If you're asking me if there is such a thing as a 100 percent safe construction site, the answer is no. There are not and will never be 100 percent safe construction sites."
Partial building collapse at 5th & Race knocks tree on to school bus. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/Jdfscw1owC
— Mike Dougherty (@MicDougherty) March 17, 2016
5th & Race collapse site is scene of demolition. Cranes seen operating on Ben Franklin side of building. pic.twitter.com/rY4MowPaxA
— Justin Finch (@JustinFinchCBS3) March 17, 2016
Part of building at 5th & Race collapses onto school bus driving by. Luckily, kids had just been dropped off. #CBS3 pic.twitter.com/oFzc06SOKN
— Anita Oh (@anita_oh) March 17, 2016
No one was injured in the collapse.
There doesn't seem to be any risk to surrounding buildings or immediate risk of further collapse, says L&I.
Traffic will be shut down eastbound Race Street at 6th Street and northbound 5th Street from Arch - Ben Franklin Bridge Entrance.
Drivers should expect traffic delays in the area.
CBS 3's Anita Oh contributed to this report.
