Building collapses against sport utility vehicle, driver injured

HOUSTON (FOX 26) — A man was taken to a hospital on Monday after a building collapsed against his sport utility vehicle as he was driving by. It happened at around 1 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Fulton Street and East Crosstimbers Street in north Houston.

The building is a total loss after the middle caved in, sending cinder blocks flying against a Chevrolet Tahoe as it was moving past the structure.

"He just called me: ‘Hey, a building just fell on top of me,'" said Juan Lopez, the driver’s son. “As he was passing by, he said he just heard some sort of cracking explosion, and when he seen it, everything was coming down on him, and so he swerved fast and got to a stop right here."

Lopez says his father was returning to work from a doctor appointment when the building collapsed, damaging the passenger side of his SUV and sending debris through the window.

"When I got here, he was shaky,” adds Lopez. “He could barely talk. You know, his words were choppy, but hopefully he’s okay."

Firefighters say the 54-year-old driver was sent to the hospital with minor injuries.

"We’re not able to locate anyone that was inside the building,” says Deputy Chief Mike Sangl with the Houston Fire Department. “The doors were still chained.”

Sangl adds that the abandoned business called "Play House" has been closed for about two months.

"It’s some type of an adult establishment," describes Sangl.

Firefighters called in arson investigators to try to get to the bottom of how the building collapsed.

"I have no reason to be suspicious," says Sangl, when asked whether he’s suspicious anyone caused the collapse.

"He was just at the right place at the wrong time," says Lopez, counting his father's blessings. “Anytime anything crazy like this happens and you come out with your life, I think everything’s great. You know what I mean? You’re on the good side.”