O'Donnell Park Collapse Victim Identified
MILWAUKEE - Structural engineers from the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin will return to the collapsed parking garage Friday morning at O'Donnell Park.
They will be there to determine why a portion of the garage on Lincoln Memorial Drive near the Summerfest grounds collapsed, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring two others. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke identified the teenager as Jared Kellner.
A spokesperson for Froedtert Hospital said that a woman who was a victim is in satisfactory condition Friday morning, while a public relations official for Children's Hospital said that it took in one patient in the case who was treated and released.
Thirty-six-year-old Amy Wosinski of East Troy is hospitalized in satisfactory condition, and her 15-year-old son Eric Wosinski was treated at a hospital and released.
Through the hospital, Wosinski has released a statement in which she says, "I would like to thank the kind people who stopped and tried to help us, those who held my hand and gave me support while waiting for emergency crews to arrive. It helped me get through the very difficult situation."
Sheriff Clarke is promising a methodical investigation into what caused the collapse. Clarke said investigators want to be thorough in examining every piece of evidence.
Milwaukee County hired a team of forensic engineers who spent the day inspecting the structure. They focused on the areas where the slab was attached to the parking structure.
Several officials tell TODAYS TMJ4 it is far too early to speculate and the cause of the collapse.
The parking structure remains shut down for the time being, but Lincoln Memorial Drive has been re-opened.
The concrete facade over an exit ramp fell, apparently trapping one victim underneath it. One witness described it as 'a loud roar.'
"I turned to my right and I saw the concrete falling and then I saw a bunch of dirt and dust flying up, and I seen a lady that was on that rounded tree bush. She fell to the ground and then there was a young gentleman. He looked to be in his teens. He started hopping like he had a leg injury. When I looked there was a black car that had just pulled out of the exit. The concrete kind of landed less than a foot from the bumper of his car," said one witness.
Witnesses who saw the concrete fall say it appears that nothing caused it to fall, it just fell.
"I just looked over there and everything was fine and there was nothing to indicate there was something wrong with the wall. There wasn't an explosion before the wall came down. There wasn't anyone that hit the wall. It just collapsed out of no where," says one witness.
"All you could see was a big piece of cement on the ground and then like one other person laying on the ground and other people around screaming," says another.
Crews quickly shut down parts of Lincoln Memorial Drive and put up a tarp to shield what they were doing from curious onlookers.
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