Irving parking garage reinforced in an effort to remove cars

IRVING, Texas - More cars were safely removed from a partially collapsed parking garage in Irving on Friday.

About a dozen vehicles were driven out by workers, who have worked the last two days to shore up the unstable structure. The garage was condemned by city officials on Wednesday after two sections collapsed on Tuesday.

According to the Irving Fire Department, crews are using steel support beams to help keep the upper level from caving in any further. But it’s not stable enough to remove cars parked on the roof, at least for now.

Bridgette Halliburton's car is parked within the red zone, which is considered the most unstable area. She's hopeful her car can be removed at some point.

“I came to bring my keys to the Human Resources department, so in case they pull out the vehicles before I return I can access my car. I’m just praying,” Halliburton said.

The goal is for all of the cars not parked in the red zone to be removed by Monday.

A section of the garage in the 4500 block of Fuller Drive gave way Tuesday and pancaked the cars below. There was a second collapse a few hours later.

Eva Yu and Jigna Bavishi were taking their daily walk inside the parking garage Tuesday morning when part of the upper deck collapsed initially collapsed. Yu's SUV was crushed.

“Suddenly we just saw the ceiling just burst open and cars started raining down,” Bavishi said.

In addition to the cars driven out from the lower level on Friday, some vehicles were also able to be driven away on Thursday evening.

The investigation and salvage efforts will continue into next week, the fire department said. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation. No one was hurt when it happened.