Bronx, NY — An accident at a dollar store in the Bronx injured eight people on Tuesday, including two children. The accident occurred around 3:45 in the afternoon, when a shelving unit collapsed, spilling merchandise all over the floor, and onto passing customers.
The accident took place at Discount Outlet on Morris Avenue.
While some of the injuries sustained were considered serious, none of them were considered to be life-threatening.
Some of the customers in the accident were able to remove themselves from the debris, although rescue workers from FDNY had to help remove a few others. A spokesperson for the fire department said that the accident caused no structural damage to the store, but that the incident is still being investigated/.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
Of course there are safety standards that all stores and establishments have to live up to, and things like inspections they all have to pass. But with these sorts of things it’s much easier for a smaller “mom and pop” operation to fly under the radar than it would for, say, an Albertsons or an H-E-B. I’ve never been to this particular establishment, so I can’t say how they do things, and I don’t want to cast unfair blame. But I’ve been involved in other, similar cases and you find that sometimes in places like these, there are certain precautions that aren’t being taken. And certain things that should be checked and kept up that just aren’t. For whatever reason, they fall by the wayside. That’s unfortunate, because sometimes when equipment isn’t replaced that should have been, or certain things aren’t checked to make sure they’re working properly, you get accidents like this.
