It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse or if anyone was injured. Several construction workers had to run to safety as the Hard Rock Hotel, which has been under construction for the last several months, came crashing down. Recovery teams were unable to reach the remains of Arreola and Wimberly for months due to the instability of the collapsed structure.ĭebris hangs on the side of the building after a large portion of a hotel under construction suddenly collapsed in New Orleans on Saturday, Oct. The three workers killed were 36-year-old Quinnyon Wimberly, 49-year-old Anthony Floyd Magrette and 63-year-old Jose Ponce Arreola, officials said.

The collapse was followed by days of search and rescue for victims in massive piles of debris, where some were trapped. Video footage from the horrific scene showed workers emerging from a giant cloud of dust after the upper floors collapsed and debris filled the street. More than 100 construction workers were at the site when the structure partially crumbled, according to one of the construction companies. “Unfortunately, criminal negligence carries a much higher burden than civil negligence, and upon deliberating, the jurors decided there simply wasn’t enough certainty to proceed,” Williams said in the statement.Ĭrews were working on building a new 350-room Hard Rock Hotel, just steps away from the city’s historic French Quarter, when the building partially collapsed on October 12, 2019. On Thursday, District Attorney Jason Williams said the jury did not come across enough evidence to meet the threshold for a criminal case. The investigation into the fatal collapse began in 2021, and the case was presented to the grand jury over several months to determine whether criminal charges could be filed in the case, according to a statement from the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office. A grand jury decided not to indict anyone on criminal charges related to the New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel construction collapse in 2019 that left three people dead and 30 others injured, prosecutors said Thursday.

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