3 injured after scaffolding elevator collapses in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas - At least three people were injured Wednesday afternoon when a scaffolding elevator collapsed in Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth Fire Department confirms one person was taken from the scene in critical condition and two others were released after being treated at the scene.

Witnesses captured the dramatic moments after the construction accident.

Cellphone video shows a construction worker hanging several stories up off the side of the building, clinging to a ledge. Another view shows he was tethered by a harness that likely saved his life.

Witnesses say the worker who was hanging off the ledge managed to climb around the corner to the other side of the building to be helped to safety by another worker.

The person who suffered the worst injuries was walking on the sidewalk underneath the scaffolding when it came down.

Authorities are still looking into what caused this, but Fort Worth fire officials say the collapse involved a construction elevator on the exterior of the building.

Those who heard the collapse and witnessed what happened in the moments after were just relieved it wasn't worse.

"And then I looked up and saw there was a guy hanging there. And he was staying really still and I said, 'Oh my God. There's somebody up there,' and the police started looking up there and they realized someone was up there," said Colleen Pilgrim, who works nearby.

"One of his co-workers came over and grabbed the cable and swung him to the ladder to come up, and it was alright," said Abel Moreno, who works nearby.

Corey Jones and his marketing team were in the middle of a promotional shoot when their focus suddenly shifted. They were on the eighth floor of the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Downtown Fort Worth when his camera captured a construction worker hanging from the side of a building across the street.

“I remember praying out loud, ‘Lord Jesus, please help this man,’” Jones recalled. “And about that time is when his coworkers realized he was hanging there.”

Jones saw the woman who was hurt being treated by paramedics. His video appears to show her moving her arms and responding to paramedics’ questions as concerned citizens looked on and construction workers tried to help.

According to city officials, the construction company on this project is Whiting-Turner. The building is owned by Sundance Square Management.

For reasons now under investigation by OSHA, a construction elevator partially collapsed.

Construction workers were sent home for the day after the accident. They're not sure if they'll be told to come into work on Thursday.