Concrete slab from construction site injures woman in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A woman is fighting for her life after part of a building broke off and struck her as she was walking down the street.
It happened around 9:30 a.m. at 13th and Chancellor Streets near Walnut Street in Center City.
Philadelphia police say that a 30-year-old woman was walking on this sidewalk when she was hit in her head by a concrete slab. We want to warn you, some of the details may be disturbing.
"It sounded like a bomb, like a continuous car accident," Elan Jackson said.
Pieces of debris were left scattered on the sidewalk near the Walnut Square apartment building in Center City after part of the facade crumbled about two stories down, hitting a 30-year-old woman on her head as she walked by on Wednesday.
She's in critical condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
"I felt the building shake," a woman said.
A woman rushed outside, saw the victim on the sidewalk and said it was a bloody mess around her.
"It was concerning when I saw the body in the street," a woman said. "That was more concerning than the actual building."
CBS Philadelphia found crews moving the fallen chunks of concrete off the sidewalk after the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital.
"I was just shocked," Daniel Adams said. "I was walking past and I saw the lady laying there."
Philadelphia's Licenses and Inspections Department says a similar incident happened here before.
On Nov. 3, 2022, violations were issued after a small section of the building façade fell, including an unsafe violation.
On Nov. 30, 2022, an additional violation was issued for failure to submit a required façade report to the L&I.
"It's terrible that it happened," Tony Pariso said.
Parisio owns the hair salon, Cut, just across the street from where the woman was hit.
"I really hope that she makes it, I hope she gets through it," Pariso said. "It could have been me. I pass by there every day."
Within a few hours of the incident, crews put up scaffolding on the sidewalk near the same area where the woman was hurt. A chunk of the facade is now missing from the building.
"It looks like a really big problem," Pariso said. "It's huge."
"It's devastating to think we walk by here all the time," Jessica Crawford said.
The property that operates the building, PMC Property Group, has not yet responded to CBS Philadelphia's request for comment.
