Woman Critically Injured By 'Avalanche' Of Falling Debris In Chicago

CHICAGO — A 25-year-old woman was critically injured on Wednesday when she was struck by falling debris while walking under scaffolding in Chicago’s Noble Square neighborhood.

Police have not identified the woman, who was struck in the head by chunks of stone while she was walking on the street near the intersection of Ashland and Milwaukee around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, according to multiple media reports.

Witnesses told NBC 5 that they saw debris from a vacant building fall on the woman, who was bleeding from the head after passersby assisted her.

“The scaffolding was up, and you never thought anything of it, but now the heavy winds pulled down the sign and the rest of the debris,” local business owner Rosario Luisi told the station.

He described the debris falling as an avalanche.

Police told reporters that the woman was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.