A piece of wood fell off a Soho building and struck a woman on the head as she walked down the street Friday afternoon. The accident occurred just after 1 PM in front of 580 Broadway, the building that houses ANIMAL’s office. UPDATE: An FDNY spokesman told ANIMAL that he didn’t know what hit the woman or what condition she’s in. “I just have someone with trauma going to Bellevue Hospital,” he said.
The FDNY responded with 6 fire trucks, 2 SUVs and 2 ambulances to assist the woman, who was conscious and moving her arms as she was placed in an ambulance. She was clearly in pain, and there was blood on the sidewalk.
A witness who saw the accident and helped “clean up” the victim as she laid on the sidewalk said that the victim’s head was gushing blood, but that he thought she was going to be alright. “She was bleeding a lot, but it depends where you get hit in the head,” he said.
An employee who was arriving to work at Zara also witnessed the accident. She said she saw the piece of wood fall and then strike the woman on the head. She estimated that the 2×4 was about 18 inches long. She didn’t see where it came from.
In New York, approximately one passerby is injured every month by falling construction material. Construction safety has been receiving increased scrutiny since the death of Tina Nguyen, who was killed by a piece of falling plywood in the West Village in March.
(Photos: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)
