4 suffer non life-threatening injuries during awning collapse
By Ashley Casper
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LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — Four people were injured following a partial building collapse at La Bonita Supermarkets near Eastern Avenue and Desert Inn Road early Friday morning.
The awning of the storefront fell due to an undetermined “structural deficiency,” Clark County Fire Battalion Chief Steve Broadwell said. The Clark County building department is on scene investigating cause.
The call was reported around 6:10 a.m. at 2500 Desert Inn Road. According to La Bonita President Jamie Martinez, about 150 people work in the 36,000 square-foot building, with 50 to 60 inside at the time of the collapse. Those who were inside were evacuated, according to the CCFD.
“One was trapped under the debris,” Broadwell said, but none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
According to worker Adolfo Navarrete, the business sustained minor damage inside.
The CCFD provided six engines, two trucks, two rescues, two battalion chiefs for response. Power and gas were shut off to the complex.
The building has been red tagged, meaning no one can go inside, Martinez said. Perishable food inside the store is expected to spoil as power and refrigerators are turned off, he added, and employees have been told to go home for two days.
Martinez said the company plans to put the 150 employees at other locations in the mean time. He said he doesn’t know when was the last inspection of the awning, nor what caused the collapse, adding that the company plans to hire an inspector to look at awnings at the other six stores.
The CCFD had no estimate of the damage or probable cause provided as of late Friday morning.
La Bonita Supermarkets General Manager Armando Martinez provided the following statement:
“La Bonita Supermarkets would like to address the awning incident that occurred at our East Desert Inn Location.
At this point we don’t know the cause of the incident and are working with the proper authorities in charge of the investigation of the awning collapse that injured four people early Friday morning. The people injured were transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Our Desert In location will remain closed until further notice and/or cleared by the proper authorities.
All employees will be given the day off fully paid and offered any medical or emotional support services if needed. Once they are ready, they will be relocated to another location until we can reopen Desert inn store.
At this moment we can only thank God that this happened so early in the morning and not during busier hours. As we get more information, we will update everyone via social media and our website. We would like to thank all the first responders who arrived quickly and helped the injured.”
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