Powerful winds cause partial collapse at Little Elm shopping center
LITTLE ELM (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Powerful winds caused the front side of a shopping center in Little Elm to come crashing down on several cars.
It's a small miracle that no one was inside vehicles in the parking lot when it happened.
Cesar Gonzalez had his phone recording video when he first laid eyes the damage from high winds that blew through around 6 p.m. at a strip mall off Eldorado Parkway, known as the Shops of Little Elm.
As many as six vehicles were buried by the bricks, metal beams and wood that were part of the front facade of the La Azteca meat market.
Witnesses at the Fuzzy's Taco Shop next door describe watching the weather go from ominous to fierce in just a matter of seconds.
"We had initially seen it from the north east," said Jennifer Donaldson. "...we watched it approach and then all of a sudden the wind came and the flags of Fuzzy's were blowing and boom it was on us."
When they came outside to check on the damage next door, their first concern was the fear that people might be trapped.
"I started walking around and was yelling, 'Is there anybody inside the cars? Is there anybody that needs help?' Nobody answered, nobody was inside the cars, thank God," said Gonzalez, manager of Fuzzy's.
Fortunately no one was injured. The area has been sealed off.
Authorities will stay overnight securing the scene.
