ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — A crane struck scaffolding on top of the future Rambler apartment building on Church Street near South Forest Avenue, causing it to collapse. No one was injured.
Watch Tiarra Braddock's full report in the video player below:
Mike Kokas was working nearby when the incident happened.
"I was eating lunch, and I heard three loud bangs like bang, bang, bang," Kokas said.
Kokas said he got out of his truck to investigate after hearing the noise.
"I jumped out of my truck, and I go to look up, and I can see the dust where the forums had collapsed," Kokas said.
With a preschool located near the construction site, Kokas said he was relieved no children were hurt.
"It could've went really bad for the daycare, for a lot of people," Kokas said.
Whitney Montgomery's daughter has attended the preschool since May. She said the outcome could have been much worse.
"It was luck and chance that it wasn't worse than what it was," Montgomery said.
Montgomery said she wants greater accountability and an independent review of the construction site's safety.
"I want more accountability. I want a third-party group doing an inspection on that building. I don't want to take the construction company's word for it," Montgomery said.
The City of Ann Arbor released a statement addressing the incident.
"The city has requested that Turner Construction provide additional documentation regarding the incident, including its cause, measures that will be taken to prevent a similar incident, the procedure that will be used to safely remove the remaining scaffolding and details regarding the protective structure over the adjacent property," the statement said.
7 News Detroit Reporter Tiarra Braddock reached out to Turner Construction Company, which is working on the Rambler apartment project, and the company stated:
On August 31, a section of temporary formwork was being moved when it came into contact with another piece of formwork. The contact caused the staged formwork to shift from its position and come to rest against the project’s guardrail system. Everyone is safe, and based on our initial assessment, the damage observed was limited to temporary construction materials and systems. Work associated with this activity was immediately suspended while we investigate the incident. We are committed to the safety of everyone on our project and the surrounding community, and this activity will resume only when we are confident it can proceed safely.
Montgomery said she is keeping her daughter out of the preschool until she receives more reassurance that the construction site is safe.
"I just don't want my kid to be a cautionary tell," Montgomery said.
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