Over a dozen hurt in roof collapse near Ohio State University
More than a dozen people were hurt Saturday night when a roof collapsed at an off-campus house near Ohio State University in Columbus, officials said, but none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.
Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin told reporters that crews responded to the scene find that the roof of the home’s front porch had collapsed, but that “the home itself was intact.”
“The few people that were trapped, I believe, were probably, unpinned, it was like their leg was caught under some of the structure, and some of the other students lifted that off the students,” Martin said. “So everybody was kind of out.”
According to CBS affiliate WBNS-TV, the incident occurred at 7:40 p.m. local time at a home just a few blocks off the OSU campus.
Fourteen students were taken to local hospitals with various injuries, Martin disclosed, but “nothing serious, nothing critical.”
Officials were told that there may have been anywhere from 15 to 45 people on the roof at the time of the collapse, according to Martin.
“It appears that the roof was overloaded with students,” he said.
In a statement provided to CBS News late Saturday night, a university spokesperson said that it was “monitoring this situation closely and assisting first responders in any way possible. Our thoughts are with those present and their friends and family.”