A building in Delaware collapsed several hours after it was struck by a car, officials said.
On Monday, Oct. 14, around 12:30 a.m., a car struck the front of a building along the 400 block of South Heald Street in the Southbridge section of Wilmington. Two people inside the car suffered minor injuries, officials said.
Workers with the Department of Licenses & Inspection (L&I) responded to the building and removed all occupants. They then scheduled a time to return to the building later Monday morning to further assess the property's stability.
More than eight hours later, around 8:45 a.m., the front walls of the building collapsed. Responding firefighters searched through the building before determining it was unoccupied. Two homes nearby were also evacuated and the power, gas and water to all the impacted properties were disconnected to prevent any further danger. None of the evacuated residents or firefighters were injured.
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While the collapse occurred hours after the crash, officials said they have not yet determined if the two incidents are directly related.
South Heald Street is currently closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic between Lobdell and B streets while A Street is closed between New Castle Avenue and Townsend Street. The closure will remain in effect throughout the day as officials continue to investigate.
All DART buses that pass through the area will be detoured.
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