SouthPark Area Parking Deck Collapses; Many Alarmed By Structure's Failure

The top two floors of a parking deck across from SouthPark Mall in south Charlotte collapsed early Tuesday.

Although people had begun arriving for work, no one was injured. People with cars still in the parking deck will be allowed to start getting them Wednesday morning.

The collapse happened just after 8 a.m. behind a 14-story building at 6100 Fairview Road and Barclay Downs Drive. Fire officials said a fourth-floor section the size of a basketball court fell onto the third floor, causing it to also collapse.

Workers in a business nearby said they heard a loud noise and then saw people running from a walkway that connects the third floor of the parking deck to the building. The parking deck was quickly evacuated.

Firefighters did a hasty search after the collapse and the fire department’s Urban Search and Rescue team used equipment to check for victims that otherwise may not have been seen.

“We have the training and the equipment and it looks to be that everyone is accounted for,” said Capt. Rob Brisley of the Charlotte Fire Department.

Judy Suarez said she could have been hurt if the collapse had happened only moments earlier. She had parked right next to the impact zone and had just walked away when the collapse happened.

“Probably, about maybe a minute. If I would have been in my car a minute longer, then it would have been right next to me,” she said.

Brisley said there was only minor damage to a few cars in close proximity. He said there were about 150 vehicles inside the parking deck with about 50 near the impact.

Ken Morgan had just driven into the deck when the collapse happened.

“Maybe five to six seconds that rumbling went on. I didn’t know what was going on. I looked up into the mirror and saw the floor fall down,” he said.

He quickly drove out of the deck, but those who had already parked had to wait hours for structural engineers to give them permission to go in after their vehicles. Once the engineers determined where the deck was stable, most vehicles were driven out. Some in the middle, where the collapse happened, may be left in the deck for some time.

This is the second time in six months a parking deck in Charlotte collapsed. A woman died in December when her car crashed into the edge of the top level of the parking deck at SouthPark Mall.

In that case, a small portion of the three-tier deck collapsed and the car fell through the opening. The medical examiner concluded the woman died from a known medical condition that likely caused the crash.

Engineers said it’s too early to know exactly what caused this collapse.

Donnie Barrier, an engineering specialist with the Charlotte Fire Department, said his job was just to make sure there was a safe way for first responders to work.

He said because it’s a private parking deck, the owner of the property will have his own engineering team investigate to find out what went wrong.

The parking deck will remain closed until it is repaired. Some drivers said they’re not sure they’ll park there again.

“It’s something I’ll think twice about, just casually pulling into one of those and thinking, ‘Well, I’ll be alright,’” said John Graham.

City Councilman Andy Dulin said this collapse is even more alarming than the one in December.

“At SouthPark Mall the woman had a medical emergency. She hit one support and it brought down the deck. This a little bit more scary in that it just simply came down,” he said.

The parking deck was built in 1987. The county inspected it then and legally there was no need for a re-inspection. David Young, an engineering professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, said the way these parking decks are built, the failure might be where and how the large components are connected.