Dollar store roof collapse

[JoshPlumSE]

I didn't see anything about this in the Engineering disasters forum. So, I thought I'd post it here:

Dollar store roof collapse kills 68-year-old man

Authorities in Kansas City, Missouri, say that a 68-year-old man has died and a 50-year-old woman suffered serious injuries when part of the roof and front facade of a Family Dollar store collapsed

abcnews.go.com

TLDR summary:
In Kansas City, MO, the store front / roof of a Family Dollar store collapsed yesterday (7/27/25). On man was killed an another seriously injured.

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Really I'm most curious if anyone from the area knows more about what could have caused this collapse.

While the building looks old and poorly maintained, these sorts of collapses usually occur when there is some event (clogged roof drain, build up of snow loads, wind uplift) that I suspect there was something here that we don't know about that caused any maintenance issues to be exacerbated or exposed.

 

[human909]

Engineering failure?

Yeah maintenance most likely:

Complaint filed with 311 about Family Dollar store two days before partial collapse

A complaint was filed with the City of Kansas City just two days before a roof partially collapsed at a Family Dollar store at 3726 Broadway Boulevard.

www.kshb.com

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[MintJulep]

Per@human909's link...

Car crash 9 years ago demolished the column holding up the corner of the building. It was never replaced.

Pretty straightforward negligence case for the victims.

 

[human909]

Yep. Before:

AUGUST 2015



After:
MARCH 2017

(You can even see the hole in the ground where the column was!)

MUCH AFTER [OCTOBER 2024]


The building tried it's hardest stay upright for almost nine years!