EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – New video showing the moment a building partially collapsed in Downtown El Paso – sending debris onto a parked car – is circulating widely on social media.
The collapse happened the morning of March 18 at 805 S. El Paso Street, prompting a large emergency response and forcing street closures for most of the day.
Woman sits in car while building partially collapses on her
Security camera footage from a nearby business captures the dramatic moment debris suddenly falls from the building onto the sidewalk and an occupied parked car. Pedestrians can be seen walking nearby just seconds before the structure begins to crumble.
Despite the close call, authorities said no injuries were reported.
The video also shows a large plume of dust quickly spreading through the area. As of Wednesday, March 25, the footage has garnered more than 10,000 views online.
KTSM 9 News spoke with Irma Paz, who was sitting inside the car when the collapse happened directly above her. She said she was waiting for a friend who was crossing a nearby international bridge at the time.
“When the wall fell, it sounded really bad, and I thought I was going to get crushed inside my car. I thought my car was destroyed and that all the windows were broken — but they didn’t break. Look, nothing happened to it,” Paz said, standing next to the vehicle, which appeared to have minimal damage.
The City of El Paso said the Fire Department is leading the investigation into what caused the partial collapse.
KTSM reached out to a city spokeswoman on Wednesday for an update. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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