MIAMI (WSVN) - A man walking his dog under a Metrorail track said he quickly had to run out of the way when big chunks of the concrete barrier plummeted to the pavement in a busy area of downtown Miami.
Pedestrians are now expressing their concerns following the incident, which occurred under a Metromover track above Southeast First Avenue, near Fifth Street, Thursday morning.
“It’s very dangerous. I could imagine if somebody was under there, they would probably be severely hurt,” said Analise Luke, who is visiting the area.
The man, who did not want to speak on camera, wrote an email to 7News that said, “I was just walking my dog, and I felt little things falling from above. I quickly ran out of the way, and then all these pieces [fell] from the Metro!”
Cellphone video taken by the man showed pieces of concrete on the street.
“It’s concerning. I wonder … Is our public transportation safe?” the man wrote in the email. “Can we walk in the streets without being afraid of being killed by a piece of concrete falling from above?”
Miami-Dade County crews shut down the Metromover Brickell loop following the incident to determine what happened and clean up the area.
The Metromover is running again, but the area beneath the track remains taped off.
No one was hurt.
The Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works released a statement that read, “It was determined that the structure of the Metromover track was not compromised. Public safety is the department’s top priority. DTPW is doing a more in-depth inspection of the area, and repairs will be made as needed.”
Meanwhile, pedestrians who walk in the area said they hope county officials will do what they can to prevent another dangerous drop.
“Well, yes, especially with us walking, it could really hurt somebody,” said area resident Zack Bynes. “It could really cause damage. They definitely should fix it.”
“I don’t know what they’re going to do about that, but that definitely sounds very dangerous,” said Luke.
It remains unknown what caused parts of the concrete barrier to crumble and fall.
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