“Babies screaming … it was scary. We had just laid my uncle to rest,” Renae Jackson-Watson recalled of the incident in Alabama
Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A deck collapsed at an Airbnb rental in Alabama during a post-funeral family gathering, leaving several people injured
- About seven people, including kids and elderly relatives, fell
- “It was horrific. It was scary. We had just laid my uncle to rest,” Renae Jackson-Watson recalled to local outlet WBMA
A deck collapsed at an Airbnb rental in Alabama during a post-funeral family gathering, leaving several people injured after they fell.
The incident occurred at the rental on the 400 block of Gene Reed Road in east Birmingham on Tuesday, July 7, according to local ABC affiliate WBMA, which cited Birmingham Fire and Rescue officials.
PEOPLE reached out to Airbnb and the Birmingham Fire and Rescue for comment on Saturday, July 11, but did not receive immediate responses.
Family members told WBMA that they had rented out the Airbnb for a reception held after a funeral service for a relative, and the deck partially collapsed after about 15 people — including children and elderly relatives — gathered on it to take a group photo.
“We were adjusting ourselves, trying to get in a position so we can take a family picture,” John Michael Williams recalled to the outlet. “It just collapsed. It just gave way, just out of nowhere.”
Videos of the deck obtained by the outlet showed the back half of the raised deck on the ground. The front half still stood on beams on the ground and the platform appeared to be at a 45-degree angle.
Several pieces of wooden following on the deck could also be seen snapped in two and jutting out. Chairs that had been on the deck also flipped over. Caution tape surrounded the stairs leading up to the deck and along the sides of the deck.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue told WBMA that several people were injured in the incident, but no one was transported to the hospital.
Williams told the outlet that about seven people fell when the deck gave way. Family members complained of soreness after hitting their backs or heads. Another family member injured a shoulder.
Renae Jackson-Watson told ABC 33/40 that while she was glad that none of her family members suffered life-threatening injuries, it was all bad timing.
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“It was devastating. It was shock. My family and I standing on this porch and then all of the sudden it just give in and all fall, and seeing my family, it was screaming, babies screaming. It was horrific. It was scary. We had just laid my uncle to rest,” she said.
Angelica Glover, who rented the Airbnb, told WBMA that she has since reported the incident to Airbnb and has been in communication with both the company and property owner, who was apologetic about what happened.
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