Child recovers from head injury after awning collapse in Mundelein

MUNDELEIN, Ill. (WLS) -- An awning fell on a group of children standing outside a store in northwest suburban Mundelein. A surveillance camera caught the entire incident on video.

Cameron Beers, 10, of Lake Barrington, needed 18 staples to treat the head injury he sustained when the awning fell on him.

Beers, his brother and two friends were window shopping just before noon on Sunday at a Mundelein hobby shop. The video shows the four children were standing underneath the store awning when it collapsed.

All four children were hit, but Cameron Beers was the most seriously injured. He is recovering at home Monday morning.

The 10-year-old's father, James Beers, was sitting in the car when the awning collapsed. The footage shows immediately ran out to help his son.

"I was just right there. There was nothing I could've done. I was in immediate protect mode," Cameron Beers' father James Beers said. "I knew he was screaming. I knew he was in pain. I saw his feet. I didn't see his body. He was under the canopy."

The awning fell outside King David's Airsoft and Hobbies, owned by David Tsao. He rents the space from a landlord.

"I have a 14 and 15-year-old," Tsao said, visibly upset. "This is something I wouldn't want to happen to my own child."

Tsao shared the surveillance video. He said the awnings are rusty and old, but the one that fell looks the same as the others in the strip mall that are still standing.

A building inspector is expected to investigate why the awning collapsed on-site on Tuesday, and check the other awnings in the strip mall to see if they are safe.