The men who were killed were in that part of the building where the collapse started, making it impossible for them to escape the sections that collapsed. Some suffered severe injuries, and Jose Ponce Arreola, Quinnyon Wimberly and Anthony Magrette were killed.

Several workers inside the building weren’t so lucky. Only four cars can be seen in the path of debris raining down on Rampart Street as they approached Canal, and they were able to quickly pull to the right and away from the danger.

The collapse happened on a Saturday morning when vehicle and pedestrian traffic was significantly less than normal at the busy intersection of Rampart and Canal streets. In addition to the heavy concrete poured on the rooftop five days before the collapse, a large amount of construction equipment can be seen along the Rampart Street edge of the rooftop.