More than year after accident, Miami-Dade College campus garage sits abandoned

Garage under construction partially collapsed in October 2012, killing 4 construction workers

DORAL, Fla. – It's been nearly a year and a half since a garage that was under construction collapsed at Miami-Dade College in Doral.

It was one of the worst workplace accidents in history, killing four construction workers, with one of them missing in the rubble for a week.

Miami-Dade College's West Campus garage partially collapsed in October 2012 and five of the contracting companies that worked on it have been fined nearly $40,000 for errors and oversights in the pre-cast construction.

Today the half-built, $20 million five-story garage sits fenced off and abandoned.

A lot of students have to walk down a busy street about a mile or two just to get to their car and some say it is not only dangerous but they are often late for class.

"Is it tough to find a spot down there?" Local 10's Todd Togen asked Karen Chacon.

"Yes, especially in the morning, early hours. It is pretty bad," said Chacon.

"It is very crowded there because everybody wants to park there," said Tiffany Ng, who parks a mile away. "It is always crowded there."

Nearly all of the nearby businesses have had some issues with students parking in their lots. Some have posted no parking signs that say they will towed.

"Usually they park all over our front parking during the busiest school days, usually Tuesdays through Thursdays," said Carlos Maldonado, who works at Mediterranea, a nearby business.

While many students are bused in from a nearby mall parking lot by the school, others say it is inconvenient, and park and walk instead.

The school released a statement saying, "The West Campus parking garage matter is currently at the center of legal action. We are unable to make any additional statements on this issue except that the college seeks an expeditious solution that involves the complete replacement of the structure."


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