A 14-year-old boy was hit on the head by a falling chunk of a building facade in Queens on Saturday, but an awning may have softened the fall and likely saved his life, police and witnesses said.
The Incident
The teen was walking with his parents in front of 37-54 82nd Street in Jackson Heights around 12:15 p.m. when a triangular piece of concrete fell and struck him on the head.
The manager of Salon Barber Essentials, located at the building, said he initially thought the loud noise was a car crash.
“I heard like a strong wind and then a couple seconds later a big sound. I thought it was a car accident. When I came outside, a boy was sitting down and he was bleeding,” he said.
He pointed to a black awning where the concrete first landed and said, “I think this saved his life.”
Witness Accounts
Danny Boey, manager of a nearby store, Digiso, said he called 911 after seeing the teen.
“I saw a lot of people crowded on the sidewalk. When I saw the boy, I called 911,” Boey said.
Boey added that the teen lives in the neighborhood and often visits his store, which sells school supplies and other items.
Another store worker, 22-year-old Daisy Rincon, said she heard the boy screaming in pain.
“When I went out, I did see him on the ground, and his parents were holding him, trying to sit him down. So it was a kind of really panicky situation,” she recalled.
A woman selling jewelry across the street also heard a loud scream and described it as “frightening.”
“Soon after, I heard the sirens. I thought there was a fire. Scary. Very scary.”
Response and Condition
The teen was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition. Police confirmed that he is expected to survive.
Photos from the scene show a triangular piece of broken concrete lying in front of the two-story building, which is landmarked according to city records. Witnesses noted that the building is over 100 years old, but nothing like this had happened there before.
