Vacant building collapses during storm in Carroll County, injuring 2 workers

The following article is a journalism writing exercise produced for a University of Maryland news writing course. The story was created using mock information and simulated reporting materials provided as part of the assignment.

Two workers hospitalized with injuries after a vacant building collapsed during a 50 mph wind gust in Carroll County

WESTMINSTER CITY, Md. — Two demolition workmen were taken to Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster Thursday morning after one suffered a concussion from falling debris, according to hospital spokesman Ima Bigwig. The spokesperson also noted that the other worker was knocked down by something heavy from behind and is complaining of back pain, as he is undergoing X-rays. Bigwig is unclear how long they’ll remain at the hospital. Names of the injured are not being released for privacy reasons. Four other workers were not injured and went home as an investigation is underway for why part of a vacant building’s front wall crashed onto the street. 

“We heard this crashing, and we all stopped what we were doing and stood still. Nobody was talking. And then our boss was yelling at us to get out of our building,” said Margaret Talloff, who works near the scene.

According to police spokeswoman Eduardo Sanchez, the building had been vacant for 6 months. Demolition began on Wednesday. A crew of six men arrived this morning to continue work when the work foreman alerted them to a line of thunderstorms approaching and told workers to take shelter at shops across from the work site. At around 8:00 a.m., before the workmen could leave the site, winds became gusty. WBAL Channel 11 reports gusts reached 50 mph for about 10 minutes. It was a stormy morning with thunderstorms. It is unclear if the wind was the cause of the building’s front wall collapsing. 

“All of a sudden, it got so windy. When I heard this rumbling, I thought the wind must have slammed a trash bin or something against a wall. But then I looked, and the wall of a building across the street was just collapsing, like in slow motion,” George Clooner, a marketing specialist, said as he was buying coffee at Birdie’s Cafe, across the street from the collapse.

County officials are helping police with the investigation, as inspectors from Carroll County Permits & Inspections are trying to determine what happened. Gas has been turned off to the block of East Main and Ralph St. until at least 4:00 p.m. as workers assess the damage, according to Sanchez.