A block-long construction scaffold collapsed in downtown San Diego this afternoon, injuring 16 pedestrians who were walking under the street level barrier. Injuries to three of the people are considered life-threatening.
Fifty-year-old Abigail Reckermann was taken to the hospital with a swollen ankle. She says the walls started moving and then there was a bang. She says, "Everything started coming down. Everyone started screaming."
She was one of about 25 people in the wooden walkway next to a three- story building under construction when the scaffolding fell.
Father Joe Carroll, president of St. Vincent de Paul Village, says many of those injured had just eaten lunch or were living at the homeless shelter he runs across the street. The shelter had served lunch to about 1,000 people.
Fire spokesman Daniel Calderon says investigators at the scene do not know what caused the collapse.
Thirty-four-year-old Ariel Medina was uninjured but saw a board fall onto the back of a man she was talking with.
A sign seen in the debris identifie Allgire General Contractors in Carlsbad as the builder.
