Floor Collapses at UNT Homecoming House Party
Firefighters say the collapse was caused by excessive jumping at a party, forcing all 50 residents to relocate due to extensive water damage.
UNT students living in the apartment below were reporting the loud party at the police station at the time of the collapse.
The third floor of an apartment complex collapsed early Sunday morning during a Homecoming party hosted by University of North Texas students, sending party-goers crashing into the apartment below.
Just after 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, the Denton Fire Department arrived at the Ridge Apartments to find the floor had collapsed. Some people were lying in the apartment below while others were hanging between the apartments, reports CBS. Video of the incident was caught on several cell phones.
Firefighters say the third-floor collapse was due to excessive jumping. Seven people suffered minor injuries.
Dayo Oyenuga, who was DJ’ing the party, says he felt his equipment “sink into the floor” when he brought it into the apartment.
“I was lucky to have no injuries, but I fell on numerous people. Immediately the water pipes were busted and water was coming from all over the place. I remember being in midair falling and I crawled my way to flat ground and went out the back window,” recalls student Davion Keys.
Keys says he and his partner did not know the homeowners — they had heard about the house party through social media.
Carley Carroll, a UNT sophomore who lives in the apartment below where the floor collapsed, says she and her three roommates were not home at the time of the incident because they were at the police department reporting the loud party.
“It’s worse than you could possibly imagine because the sprinklers were on for two hours so not only was all of our stuff crushed, but it’s completely soaked with water. Everything is gone,” says Carroll.
A GoFundMe page set up by Carroll’s sister says the ceiling of their apartment was known to shake during the frequent parties. Police had been notified several times of the girls’ fears that the ceiling “wouldn’t hold up”.
All 50 Ridge Apartments residents were forced to collect their belongings and find somewhere else to temporarily stay due to the extensive flooding, according to the NY Daily News. Some students say they have been set up with hotels while others are staying with family.
“Right now, I have no home. Nothing,” says Carroll. “I have my phone and my keys and that’s about it.”
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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