Students Get Out Before Cafeteria Ceiling Collapses

The ceiling of an elementary school cafeteria suddenly caved in Friday afternoon, just minutes after students attending a summer program were cleared out of the area by a school official.

No one was injured in the incident at Pinewood Avenue Elementary School in Tujunga, but the open-air structure was left in rubble.

The 11 students attending a summer activities program in the building had been evacuated five minutes beforehand by a school official who was alerted by a rumble that shook the structure.

Had the school been in regular session, it could have been a very different story. The outdoor cafeteria, equipped with long tables and benches, has a capacity of about 600, according to Pinewood Avenue Principal Esther Macias.

“I can’t believe it,” said Macias, looking over the wreckage. “I’m just happy this didn’t happen during lunchtime.”

Los Angeles Unified School District officials at the scene said they had no idea why the ceiling of the 3,200-square-foot structure, built in the late 1960s, suddenly collapsed.

“I’ve never seen anything like it with all my years in the district,” said area maintenance director Michael Brady, who has been with the district for 28 years.