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Public Safety

Several Injured In Structure Collapse At Border

By Jose Luis Jiménez / Social Media/Web Editor
Published September 14, 2011 at 8:30 AM PDT
This story was published more than 13 years ago.
San Ysidro border crossing
David McNew
San Ysidro border crossing

City News Service contributed to the information in this report.

Several Injured In Structure Collapse At Border
A wooden platform or roof has collapsed onto one or more vehicles in an area under construction at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

UPDATE: 4:13 p.m. - San Diego Police have tweeted that the border crossing will be congested for the next six hours. Drivers should use the Otay Mesa crossing if traveling north.

Eleven people were taken to the hospital after construction debris fell on them this morning at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest border crossing in the world.

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Seven border crossers and four construction workers were injured when concrete and wood fell from above at about 10:45 a.m. A construction worker remains in serious condition and is expected to survive. The other injuries were considered minor.

Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego fire department, said investigators are still searching for the cause.

“The construction people, along with federal structural engineers, are looking at the collapse area right now and determining what needs to be done next and have the ability to open up some lanes to allow traffic back into the United States from Mexico,” said Luque.

Southbound I-5 is closed at the border, and commuters are urged to avoid the area, according to a Tweet by Caltrans.

Traffic from the United States in Mexico was never stopped, though it was slowed. The Otay Mesa Port of Entry remains open.

Public Safety
Jose Luis Jiménez
Jose Luis Jiménez joined KPBS in August 2010 as the Social Media/Web Editor for Fronteras: The Changing America Desk. His duties include using social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, to distribute print stories, audio tales and videos produced by Fronteras reporters to as wide an audience as possible. He also uses these platforms to identify communities on the Internet to engage in a conversation about what is happening along the U.S.-Mexico border and in the Southwest. The social media platforms are also used to help reporters find sources and ideas for stories. Jose has been a journalist since 1993, starting his career at media outlets in Florida before moving to California in 2000. Prior to joining KPBS, he worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune covering numerous beats, including the border region and Mexico. His last assignment at the Union-Tribune was as an editor for both the daily newspaper and the website. When not working, he volunteers with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and serves as treasurer for the local chapter of CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California. One of the group’s main projects is to host an annual media workshop that teaches high school students about journalism and encourages them to enter the field. Jose was born and raised on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands and graduated from Florida International University with a double major in journalism and political science.
See stories by Jose Luis Jiménez
KPBS News: Public Safety Policy
KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.
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