A college homecoming party took a scary turn Friday night when a backyard patio collapsed at a Virginia home, injuring at least 28 people and sending emergency crews rushing to the neighborhood.
William & Mary confirmed that students were among those injured at the Williamsburg off-campus residence. According to city officials, all reported injuries are not life-threatening.
Dispatchers received a report of a structure collapse around 10:07 p.m. in the 200 block of Matoaka Court. Police and firefighters who responded found that the back deck of the house had collapsed, the city said.
Emergency crews took 13 people to hospital, while 15 others reportedly sought treatment on their own, according to the city’s newsletter Saturday morning.
Neighbors told WAVY a homecoming party was in progress when the patio gave way. One described emergency vehicles crisscrossing the area.
“All along the street and around ambulances and fire trucks,” the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, told WAVY. “We saw a lot of hospital stretchers coming out of ambulances. At least nine ambulances were driving down the street.”
Joshua Wise, who lives next door to the house, told the outlet that some of his classmates were involved. He returned after emergency crews finished responding, but learned his roommate was helping people get home.
“The words were traveling pretty fast,” Wise told WAVY.
“By the time I got back here, the emergency response was over, but I had a roommate who was helping people, trying to help as much as possible, driving people home, getting them to where they needed to be.”
Wise credited neighbors with coming together after the scary incident.
“We did everything we could to help each other and I think it’s beautiful,” he said.
In a message to the campus community Saturday, Ginger Ambler, William & Mary’s senior vice president for student affairs and public safety, said the university was still gathering information. Additional students may have requested care beyond those initially counted, she noted.
“We are grateful that none of the injuries are life-threatening,” Ambler wrote.
She said staff in the university’s health, education and student support offices were working to help affected students.
“We recognize that such an experience can affect our students deeply and in many different ways,” Ambler wrote.
Wise also praised the emergency response.
“Thank God for emergency responders,” he told WAVY. “They were great. The ambulances and everything arrived pretty quickly.”
Local police and firefighters responded, and city officials were working with area hospitals to confirm the total number of people treated.
The city’s Code Compliance Division evaluates and inspects the site.
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