Pedestrian Bridge Collapses at Atlanta Botanical Garden Kills 1, Injures 15

[tekisui]

One worker was killed and about 15 others were injured — some critically — in a major construction accident at the Atlanta Botanical Garden shortly after 9 a.m. Friday.

Scaffolding being used to pour concrete for a new elevated “Canopy Walk” attraction at the garden collapsed, Atlanta Fire Capt. Gregory Shinkle said.

In November, construction crews had installed the final section of the new 600-foot-long, 45-foot-tall skywalk.

Emergency crews and ambulances were called to a major construction accident at the Atlanta Botanical Garden shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday.

About a dozen ambulances were on the scene at 9:30, with more arriving. Some injured workers were being brought out of the accident area on backboards, but others were still in the debris, Shinkle said.

Shinkle said a special team was called in to shore up the walkway and scaffolding so that medical workers could reach victims.

Grady Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson said the downtown hospital expected to receive 13 patients from the accident — five of them in critical and eight in non-critical condition. Another four patients were bound for Atlanta Medical Center, she said.

Shinkle said most of the non-fatal injuries were fractures.

The Botanical Garden had issued a press release saying that crews would be pouring concrete for the new 600-foot, 45-foot-tall “canopy walk” on Friday. The attraction is designed to give visitors an elevated view of new gardens.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/12/19/botanical_garden_accident.html