JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The process of meticulously removing cars from a partially collapsed garage at Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside Hospital is expected to continue Wednesday -- with a little robotic help.
No one was hurt on Sept. 12 when the top floor of the three-story garage on King Street partially collapsed onto the second floor. Multiple cars were damaged and others were seen tilted on the edge of the collapsed portion.
More than 100 vehicles were parked in the garage at the time, and they’ve remained there during the investigation.
On Tuesday, the process of slowly and meticulously removing cars began with the vehicles on the bottom floor.
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Because there is concern that another collapse could occur, a special remote-controlled robotic towing machine is being used to pull the vehicles out. Operators are controlling the machine from outside the garage.
Once outside the garage, the vehicles are taken from the property by tow trucks.
It’s not known if the same system will be used on the other floors that have been damaged.
One woman told News4JAX that she’s been driving a rental while her car remained on the second floor of the hospital garage. The hospital told her they would notify her once her car was towed out.
The other two parking garages at the hospital remain open.