A woman was injured Friday morning when a large storefront awning collapsed, crashing onto the sidewalk she was standing on in Medford, Massachusetts.
Medford fire officials said the incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. on Riverside Avenue in busy Medford Square. Images from the scene showed the awning partially collapsed in front of the Cash Point pawn shop.
The Medford Fire Department said one person was taken to an area hospital with injuries. The woman is in stable condition, according to a city spokesperson.
Michelle Machado works across the street and says she heard someone screaming around 9 a.m.
“I looked up and I saw it [the awning] go down,” Machado said. "It was a big bang. It was a loud bang.”
“My stomach is all in knots right now,” she added.
Machado says she immediately called 911 and raced over to help.
“I ran to go try to see if anyone else was hurt and a whole bunch of us came and we were trying to lift it up,” she said. "We managed to lift it up; we couldn’t move it.”
An image shared on social media by Medford Firefighters Local 1032 shows good Samaritans hoisting up the awning while emergency responders tend to the victim.
Alyssa McCarthy, who owns a hair salon just feet away from where the awning landed, said it was pretty scary.
McCarthy said she knew something was wrong when she saw emergency responders and flashing lights everywhere.
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“I just drove up this morning and I saw the fire trucks, cops and everything," she told NBC10 Boston. "I thought maybe there was an accident and all of a sudden I saw this when I pulled up and hoped it didn’t affect me.”
“I’m thankful nothing happened to here," she added. "I feel sorry for the other business. I know they’re struggling with the COVID and everything.”
The incident left several businesses trapped behind the awning. They had no choice but to close for the day or open late.
It's unclear what caused the awning to fall, but a lot of snow did fall on it during Thursday's storm.
“I’m assuming it’s because of the snow," Machado said. "The snow wasn’t that heavy, but it could be because of the snow piling up.”
