Cause Of Allston Restaurant Facade Collapse Won't Be Known For Days

BOSTON (CBS) – Investigators say it will take 3-to-4 days to determine what caused a concrete façade to collapse in Allston, leaving two people hurt, one critically.

A section of the Common Ground restaurant where the roof meets the wall fell apart Sunday afternoon, sending parts of the building onto the Harvard Avenue sidewalk.

The damaged facade a day after it collapsed on Harvard Avenue in Allston. (Photo credit: Nick Giovanni - WBZ-TV)

Two people hurt by falling debris were rushed to the hospital, including a woman who suffered critical injuries. Everyone inside the restaurant was safely evacuated.

Boston Inspectional Services is looking at the entire row of businesses on the block trying to figure out what went wrong.

The damaged facade after it collapsed on Harvard Avenue in Allston. (WBZ-TV)

"We're concerned about the whole building.  You can see the front of it, where that brick is, is still bowed out," said Inspectional Services Commissioner William Christopher Jr. "Right now the mission is to see at what point the building can be deemed safe or unsafe. We'd like to get these businesses back open as soon as we can, but we won't do that until we have a comfortable level with the decision."

Jonathan Aguirre ran to help the victims, lifting concrete off of one of them.

"When we finally got the concrete off of her, her friend started doing CPR, but she was already really badly bruised," he said.

Damage is estimated at $500,000.

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