‘I’m a little nervous to get too close’: 911 calls reveal chaos after parking garage collapse at Ascension St. Vincent’s

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At least four people called 911 to report the partial parking garage collapse at Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside that happened at around 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

News4JAX received some of the 911 calls made to report what happened.

Call 1

Caller: “The third floor of the parking garage at the St. Vincents Medical Center in Riverside has fallen through.”

Dispatch: “What’s the address?”

Caller: “1824 King Street. It’s the garage. The third floor has fell through to the second floor.”

Call 2

Caller: “The garage fell, caved in on itself, and there’s a patient trapped underneath a car.”

Dispatcher: “The parking garage, ma’am?”

Caller: “Yes, the parking garage.”

Dispatcher: “Ma’am, is the car hanging?”

Caller: “From what I know, no.”

Dispatcher: “But there’s one person underneath the car?”

Caller: “Yes.”

Later that day, officials confirmed no one was killed or injured in the collapse.

Call 3

Caller: “I can see one car on top of another. I’m a little nervous to get too close. It looks a little unstable.”

Dispatcher: “Can you see anybody injured at this time?”

Caller: “Let me look underneath all the… Let me see if I can see anybody. I’m on 911 right now. As of now, I see no people or hands of anything. There’s one car on its side. Two cars smashed. Three cars smashed. There’s another one that’s about to fall it looks like.”

As of Wednesday, the area remains blocked off to the public while officials investigate the cause of the collapse and assess the stability of the structure. More than 100 people remain without their cars following the collapse.

Two people, whose cars are inside the collapsed garage, said they’ve reached out to the hospital and were told there is no clear timeline or set date to get their cars back.

A total of 112 cars vehicles were parked inside the garage.

“You call your own insurance company first, you see what kind of insurance coverage you got that could apply towards the accident. And if they can’t do anything for you, then you call St. Vincent’s and ask for their insurance department and where can I file a claim,” Jacksonville City Council member and insurance agent Matt Carlucci said.

A woman who has her car trapped inside the parking garage said she had no choice but to get a rental car. As of now, she hasn’t seen her car and doesn’t know how severe the damage is.

Another woman said she is borrowing her friend’s car for the time being but hasn’t gotten a clear answer on when they’ll get access or if the hospital will cover the expenses caused by the collapse.

Ascension St Vincent’s Riverside hasn’t provided updates as to when people will have access to their cars.

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