College Homecoming Deck Collapse Injures at Least 28 During Party

A homecoming celebration turned chaotic Friday night after a back deck collapsed at a Williamsburg, Virginia, house, injuring at least 28 people and prompting a large emergency response.

William & Mary said students were among those hurt at the off-campus home. City officials reported that none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

A structure collapse was reported at about 10:07 p.m. in the 200 block of Matoaka Court, according to the city. Police officers and firefighters arrived to find that the residence’s rear deck had given way.

Thirteen people were transported to hospitals by emergency crews, while 15 others reportedly made their own arrangements to receive medical care, the city said in a Saturday morning update.

Neighbors told WAVY that a homecoming gathering was in progress when the deck collapsed. One resident said ambulances and fire trucks filled the surrounding streets as responders worked at the scene.

“All the way down the street and wrapped around just ambulances and fire trucks,” the neighbor, who declined to be identified, told WAVY. “We saw a lot of hospital gurneys coming out of ambulances. At least nine ambulances kind of wrapped around the street.”

Joshua Wise, who lives next door, told the station that some of his classmates were involved. When he returned after the emergency response had ended, he learned that his housemate had been helping injured or stranded people get home.

“Word was traveling pretty fast,” Wise told WAVY. “By the time I got back here, the emergency response was over, but I had a housemate who was helping people, trying to help out as much as possible, drive people home, get people where they needed to be.”

Wise said neighbors quickly rallied to support one another after the collapse.

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“We did everything we could to help each other out and I think that that’s beautiful,” he said.

In a message sent to the campus community Saturday, Ginger Ambler, William & Mary’s senior vice president for student affairs and public safety, said university officials were continuing to determine the full scope of the incident. She cautioned that additional students may have received medical attention beyond the initial tally.

“We are grateful that none of the injuries were life-threatening,” Ambler wrote.

Ambler added that teams from the university’s health, academic and student-support offices were assisting students affected by the collapse.

“We recognize that such an experience may affect our students deeply and in different ways,” Ambler wrote.

Wise also commended the speed and effectiveness of the first responders.

“Thank goodness for the emergency responders,” he told WAVY. “They were great. The ambulances and everything got here pretty fast.”

Local police and firefighters responded, and city officials were working with area hospitals to confirm the total number of people treated.

The city’s Codes Compliance Division is evaluating and inspecting the site.