JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman says part of her apartment ceiling collapsed while she and her family were sleeping — about 12 hours after she warned management that there could be a problem.
Jessica Dozier said the collapse happened at about 1:28 a.m. at the Calloway Cove Apartments. Her sister was sleeping on one couch, while Jessica and her daughter were on another when sheetrock and other debris fell on them.
“I had the sheetrock on me,” Jessica said. “That stuff, that brown … is itching me real bad.”
Jessica said she had noticed brown discoloration beneath the ceiling and water on the floor. She said she notified the apartment complex and asked someone to inspect the area.
“I really just tried to prevent all of this,” she said.
Jessica said she and her family members were hurt in the collapse. She reported pain in her neck, shoulder and back, and said debris struck her head and face.
The damage brought District Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman to the apartment. Pittman said a resident contacted her about what she described as a serious and dangerous condition.
“This was not simply a maintenance issue,” Pittman said. “It was an urgency and a health and safety concern.”
Pittman said the safety of the resident and her children must be the first priority.
A Jacksonville mother says she warned her apartment complex about problems with her ceiling — then hours later, part of it came crashing down while she and her family were asleep. (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)
The ceiling collapse is not the first safety concern reported at the complex.
In 2019, a fire sent a mother and her children to the hospital. A News4JAX I-TEAM investigation later found that the family had reported smelling gas four times before the explosion.
The complex was previously known as Washington Heights. It failed a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development inspection in 2016, with more than 20 safety issues identified, according to previous News4JAX reporting.
State Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon also came to the complex after her office received several calls about the ceiling collapse. Her legislative aide, Janice Mitchell, said Nixon was unable to participate in an interview.
News4JAX went to the property management office seeking answers. Staff members knocked on the door and waited, but no one came out to speak with the station.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.