Willowick parking garage collapse damages dozens of cars, 2 with people inside
Property owners were found guilty of 15 building code violations in May of 2023
WILLOWICK, Ohio (WOIO) - The parking deck of the East Tower of The Shoregate Towers apartments collapsed Wednesday night.
Two people were rescued from a vehicle inside the garage and taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, according to Willowick Fire Chief Bill Malovrh.
Another victim managed to crawl out of their damaged car on their own, Malvorth stated.
Fifteen to 20 vehicles inside the garage were damaged.
As the investigation into why the garage collapsed continues, the Willowick mayor sheds light on prior issues with the property.
The collapse happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The next day, Mayor Michael Vanni released a statement on the property owners and the collapse.
“The collapse of the north parking deck of Shoregate Towers Apartment complex remains under investigation and authority of the Willowick Fire Chief in collaboration with the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office. The City remains committed to the safety of the residents and our safety personnel and will continue to monitor the situation through its fire, police and building officials.
The City will confirm that it has criminally prosecuted the property owners for building code violations in the Willoughby Municipal Court and has worked with several local agencies, including the Lake County Health Department, the Lake County Building Department, Lake Metropolitan Housing Authority and the Fair Housing Resource Center of Lake County to seek compliance for violations on the property. The property owners pled No Contest and were found guilty of 15 building code violations in May 2023. The property owners are currently on probation to the Willoughby Municipal Court requiring mandatory written reporting to the Court every 60 days with status hearings on ongoing repairs to the property. The property owners have filed a Notice of Appeal.
The City will continue to assist Chief Malovrh in his investigation to determine if further charges will be forthcoming. On behalf of the City of Willowick, I want to thank all the surrounding departments and law enforcement personnel who provided mutual aid to the City last night. We are fortunate to have access to such an extensive network of emergency responders in a time of need.”
As for the people who live here, the experience was terrifying.
“It was just very scary to see; I mean, we didn’t know what was going to happen; we didn’t know if we were in danger. We’re all the way up here on the seventh floor in a high rise, and I was just... I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Melissa Merritt.
She is one of many residents who say management did not reach out all morning and into the afternoon about the collapse.
“Over there, you look at that now, that’s fallen in the last several hours,” said John Scruby, who watched more of the garage slowly collapse through the morning, Thursday. “Property management in terms of the owner could do a much better job of taking care of this place.”
Orion Wortman said he reported issues in the garage itself just weeks ago.
“I had a piece of concrete fall on my car, and I was worried it could have fallen on my head,” said Wortman.
He said he was told any damage from the falling concrete was his to cover.
Now, he is in a building he doesn’t feel safe in.
“I was waiting for the day that it would go down, for something to happen; I was expecting for something like this to happen,” said Wortman.
19 News reached out to building management, but did not receive a response.
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