JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three weeks after part of an Ascension St. Vincent’s parking garage collapsed in Riverside, the cars on the top level are being removed.
A piece of the third floor collapsed into the second floor and some vehicles were damaged.
However, crews were worried that removing any of the cars might lead to a second collapse.
“Our number one priority continues to be the safety of our associates, contractors and anyone working near the garage. Our second priority is to avoid any further damage to vehicles still in the garage and the garage itself. To ensure no persons need to enter the building, we are using a crane to safely remove cars from the third floor of the garage. We will contact the owners of the retrieved vehicles directly,” Ascension St. Vincent’s said in a statement on Thursday.
A video shared with News4JAX on Thursday showed one of the cars being removed by a crane from the third floor. A viewer who said it was her car sent in the video.
Two weeks ago there were more than 30 vehicles on the top floor but at one point on Thursday, that number was down to 16, including one that is still dangling.
As for those parked on the second level, Ascension St. Vincent’s said it still doesn’t have a time frame when those vehicles will be retrieved.
“I wish that we would have had someone from St. Vincent’s come out and speak publicly about what happened…“ said Jacksonville resident Jayson Evans. “I wonder what’s going to go on from here.”
The majority of the cars parked on the ground level have already been removed.
