2 critically injured after East Garfield Park scaffolding collapse: Chicago fire officials
'You have to put your life on the line': Good Samaritan says he helped pull debris off worker's chest
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two men were critically injured in East Garfield Park after scaffolding collapsed outside a home Monday afternoon, Chicago fire officials said.
The men were working on a building under construction in the 3300 block of West Warren Boulevard when the facade fell, causing a scaffolding to collapse about 1 p.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department.
"We have about three stories of scaffolding that came down on the front of the building," one CFD official said.
Tiffany Smith lives across the street.
"Once I got to my window the whole scaffolding thing just fell from the top and hit the ground, and boom, cacophony," Smith said. "It was like an explosion. It was horrible."
She said she's still heartbroken over what she saw after that loud noise.
"One of the guys fell straight down. And, one of the other guys, he just landed on the street on his back," Smith said.
Chopper7HD was over the scene just after 1:15 p.m., and scaffolding could be seen on cars and the roadway. Chicago police and fire crews were on the scene, as well.
Daniel Hubbard also heard the collapse, and rushed outside to find one of the men trapped under debris.
"My mom came and got me, and rushed across the street, saw a guy screaming," Hubbard said. "There was a thick piece of concrete boulder-like material on his chest, and two of the guys helped me grab it off of him."
Hubbard said he initially thought the noise was a car accident, but after he saw what happened, there was no hesitation to help.
"When you see another civilian in that state, you have to put your life on the line, just like the firefighters do," Hubbard said.
The workers were taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, fire officials said. Witnesses told ABC7 they had been part of a crew doing work on a home on the block. No additional information was provided about the victims.
This is a developing story; check back with ABC7 Chicago for updates.
