More Than 500 Residents Must Move After Dallas Crane Collapse

A crane that collapsed near downtown Dallas, killing one person and injuring five other people is also forcing more than 500 people living in the apartment complex to find a new home.

"The building has become totally unusable for residential purposes and you will not be able to reoccupy your apartment," Elan City Lights' apartment managers announced Monday in a note posted online. Management wrote that residents would be provided assistance in finding a new place to live and that everyone would be receiving their deposits back, as well as their June rents without any deductions. Residents' utility bills would also be zero'ed out and another $500 would be provided for whatever needs residents may have.

There were 534 residents impacted by the crane's collapse and due to the damage to the property, "we will not be able to re-occupy our community in the near future" management wrote in their note.

Residents were briefly allowed inside the complex on Monday to retrieve their belongings, but there wasn't much time to grab everything they needed. Around 125 residents weren't allowed back inside due to the heavy damage to their units.

"They told us to come grab as much as we could. They gave us about five minutes to grab as much as we could and that was it," resident Jennifer Gonzalez told NBC-DFW. "I don't even think I've processed where I'm going to live, what's next."

Officials with Dallas Fire and Rescue say it plans on working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to remove the crane safely from the building. Officials expect that it will take them two days to remove the crane once work begins. The crane was being used to construct another high-rise apartment building and grocery store located next door to the Elan City Lights apartment complex. The crane toppled over Sunday afternoon while severe weather was moving through the area. The crane tore through the top four floors of the apartment building located in downtown Dallas's city center. It's unclear how many floors in the garage collapsed.

One resident who lives at the apartment the crane crashed into, said the accident sounded like a "large bang."

"Most insane thing I've ever experienced," 34-year-old Ryan Lowe wrote on Twitter. "Massive crane blew over into my complex. Missed my unit by 2 doors."

Photo: Getty Images


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