Posted on: November 25, 2024, 10:39h.
Last updated on: November 25, 2024, 11:13h.
Part of a building reportedly collapsed at the Bally’s Evansville Casino & Hotel in Indiana on Monday morning after a motor vehicle fell through a parking garage and landed on a conference center roof.
The car then fell through the roof and came to rest on the second level of the conference center in the elevator lobby, fire officials said.
At least one person was injured, according to initial news reports. The driver was able to get out of the vehicle without assistance, but had to be rushed to a local hospital, reports added.
Local media further reported the incident resulted in a “huge leak/water flowing.” The water was quickly shut off.
Vehicle Went Through Wall
The vehicle was apparently driven through a wall on the garage’s top floor – believed to be the seventh floor — before falling into the conference center, initial reports revealed.
The incident was described as a “partial structure collapse” in an 8:45 am post from EvansvilleWatch.
“Part of the roof has collapsed on the 2nd floor per callers,” EvansvilleWatch reported. “One caller said it’s the roof leading from the parking garage to the hotel near the escalator.”
Landed Upside Down
The vehicle landed upside down in the hotel-casino’s Executive Conference Center, coming to rest on top of an escalator, according to a local TV station, WEHT. A conference was occurring when the vehicle fell.
The Evansville Fire Department responded with several units, including a crew trained in structure collapses.
Firefighters were checking for gas leaks and to see if anyone was trapped in the building. It appears no one was trapped, EvansvilleWatch reported, and emergency workers said that all security and casino workers were “accounted for,” following a search.
Initial reports revealed that there was no structural collapse in the parking garage, but it was reported that a portion of the wall from the western side of the building is missing.
Evansville Police Department officers were on the scene quickly after the incident and evacuated the garage and the impacted part of the building.
Traffic in the immediate area was also being detoured.
Social Media Responses
Numerous people posted their responses to the incident. One social media poster, identified as Gin Stanley, said:
They’ve been doing construction on the parking garage for a long time. The upper levels have been closed for ages. I don’t know when they reopened them for vehicles. It’s been years since I even tried to go higher than the second level.”
Another person, identified as Diana Peerman, posted, “I am praying for everyone involved that they … will be ok.”
