With a Balcony’s ‘Snap,’ Fun Turned Into Horror

It was just after 9 p.m. when Craig Johnson heard a group of revelers file out onto the wooden balcony of the condominium next door to his Playa del Rey home. As the party-goers settled in, Johnson listened to their shrill shrieks of glee as the Independence Day rockets began to arc high into the night air.

Then came “the snap.”

“It was like slow motion,” Johnson said Wednesday, hours after the second-story balcony collapsed Tuesday night, injuring a neighbor and her seven guests. “There was the snap, and all the people on board just went for a ride. They just sort of slid off and onto the ground.”

Within seconds, the shrieks turned into horrifying wails as the victims tumbled into a flower planter below. Those injured in the accident at 16 66th Ave. included a woman who was impaled on a half-inch sprinkler pipe.

Arlene Holtzman, 51, was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center with a portion of the pipe still in her back after firefighters spent 30 minutes cutting her free. She was listed in serious condition after surgery on the puncture wound. Medical Center spokesman Mike Byrne said she may have suffered internal injuries.

On Wednesday, neighbors recalled the incident as they stood beneath the 30-foot-long balcony, which was still hanging from the second floor of the condominium at nearly a 45-degree angle.

“I thought it was some kids playing,” said Johnson, who witnessed the accident with his wife, Cindy. “At first, I figured some kids were just playing a prank. But when I looked, I saw the people fall.

“There were also a bunch of potted plants on the balcony that fell on the people. They must have weighed about 10 pounds each.”

Bill Playter, whose son lives across the street from the accident scene, said he mistook the sound of the crashing balcony for vandals.

‘No Idea’

“When I heard it crash, I thought somebody had knocked over a park bench,” Playter said. “The kids do that sort of thing sometimes. I had no idea that it was this bad.”

“It was horrible,” said Jeff Livick, 22, who lives in the condominium next door. “People were really hurt. But nobody died though. . . . Still, it’s a bummer. It’s a bad way to put a damper on a fabulous Fourth.”

Among the other injured party-goers, Barbara Shore, 51, was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center, suffering from head injuries. She was listed in fair condition.

Candace Shank, 40, and Madeline Watson, 41, whom neighbors identified as the owner of the condominium, were treated at Brotman Memorial Hospital for minor cuts and bruises and were released.

Conditions Listed

Ad Williams, 55, and Lorraine Grawoig, 53, are listed in fair condition at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital.

Bob Cris, 49, and Stan Garris, whose age was not released, were also injured in the fall. Police said they were uncertain whether the men were hospitalized.