HARTFORD, Conn. ― A pair of crowded decks collapsed during a party at an off-campus house near Trinity College in Connecticut, injuring about 30 people, Hartford police said Sunday.
College spokeswoman Kathy Andrews said 28 students were taken to hospitals after the Saturday collapse and most of them were treated and released by Sunday morning.
“While this event is upsetting, we are grateful that none of the injuries are life-threatening,” she said, adding that college health, counseling and chaplain services are available to students.
Deputy Chief Brian Foley of the Hartford police said authorities received numerous calls shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday of multiple people hurt at an off-campus house. He said a third-floor deck of a house collapsed onto a second-floor deck, which subsequently fell onto a first-floor deck. He said each deck was crowded with partiers.
The injured were sent to five area hospitals, Foley said, with the most serious reported injuries being a broken arm and a head injury. He described those hurt as “walking wounded” and said most were students.
“That’s some pretty weighty decks that fell down,” Foley said. “We’re very lucky there weren’t worse injuries.”
Foley said the third-floor deck that fell showed signs of deterioration.
