A section of bricks 3 feet high and 50 feet wide fell from the top of a wall at a building in Melrose Park on July 5, 2012, injuring two pedestrians who were on the sidewalk. (Credit: CBS)
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MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS) – High winds may be to blame for the partial collapse of a Melrose Park building – an accident that injured two children Thursday afternoon.
The commercial building’s parapet wall collapsed at about 4 p.m., sending bricks and an awning crashing to the ground at 136 and 138 Broadway.
Firefighters say paramedics took two children, siblings who are 7 and 9, to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
Witness Fernando Atilano says debris literally buried one of the victims, a little boy. When he was pulled out, he says, the child’s face was cut up.
When the collapse occurred, winds of up to 55 miles an hour were bearing down on Melrose Park, Melrose Park Fire Chief Rick Beltrame says.
“Without a warning, the façade collapsed,” he said.
Newsradio WBBM reports three others refused treatment at the scene.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Michele Fiore reports
