MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Sisters Haylie and Kaylie Vega said they were in their bedrooms Thursday afternoon when they heard a “Big BOOM!”
Their apartment is at the three-story Lakeview Gardens building where huge chunks of the roof’s overhang collapsed at 17650 NW 68 Ave., in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
“The whole thing was on top of our porch,” Haylie said.
The Vega sisters ran outside. They said they felt lucky, but they no longer trust the Lakeview Gardens building. Neither did officials who evacuated 36 units, as Miami Dade Fire Rescue personnel investigated.
“I am not going in there,” Haylie said.
After the Surfside building collapse, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has been on alert. The official death toll of the tragedy on June 24 was 97 and the search continued Friday morning.
Lakeview Gardens is 47 years old. Levine Cava said the building passed its certification at the 40-year mark and the engineers’ initial assessment of the building showed it was structurally sound.
“It will take a serious engineering study before they can determine what needs to be done to make it safe for people to go back,” Levine Cava said.
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