ANAHEIM : Stucco Awning Falls at Mall; 6 Escape

A 200-foot-long wood and stucco awning on a three-story mini-mall suddenly crashed to the ground Thursday, crushing the fronts of four parked cars.

There was no obvious reason for the 1 p.m. crash at 763 N. Euclid St., which momentarily trapped six people inside stores.

“There’s nothing indicating (how it happened) at this time,” said Kent Mastain, Anaheim Fire Department battalion chief. “It just looks like a spontaneous collapse.”

Three people in a convenience store and one in a dry cleaning establishment were able to escape from the debris, but two people inside a paint store needed to be rescued by firefighters, who used a chain saw to cut their way in.

Although no one was harmed, shop workers and customers were obviously shaken by the freak accident.

“I thought it was an earthquake,” said Ravhi H. Patel, who had just parked his car and was about to enter the cleaners. “I looked up and then jumped back and the whole thing fell.” The front window of his black Mercedes was shattered and the hood caved in.

“We were taking care of business and all of the sudden we heard this thundering sound, and I said, ‘Did you feel that?’ ” said Jackie Van Couvering, who manages the paint store. Her truck was crushed in front.

An Anaheim police officer patrolling the area first reported the incident. Officer Jim Moser said he was waiting to make a left turn from Euclid Street in front of the mini-mall when he heard the crashing noise.

Moser said he thought someone had been in a car accident, then made the left turn and saw the crunched structure. “I saw all this and thought, ‘What’s wrong here?’ ” he said.

Some tenants of the building said they had tried unsuccessfully in the past to get the owner to make improvements to the 5-year-old mall’s leaky roof and parking lot. But they said they had not made any requests to improve the facade.

The owner could not be reached for comment.

Anaheim building inspectors were investigating. They said the building had passed all inspections when first completed, and they had no immediate knowledge of code violations.

“It’s difficult to make any determination. They’re putting together what they’ve seen, but there will have to be an investigation,” said Otto Merket, senior inspector.

Sun Hui, who just bought the cleaning business on Saturday, said she was a little concerned that the new venture got off on the wrong foot. But, she said, “I guess we’re just lucky no one was hurt.”