A chunk of a building facade fell on a teen’s head as he walked with his parents in Queens Saturday — but an awning may have broken the debris’ fall and saved his life, police and a witness said.
The 14-year-old boy was walking in front of 37-54 82nd St. in Jackson Heights when a triangular piece of concrete hit him in the head around 12:15 p.m., cops said.
The manager of Salon Barber Essentials, which is located at the address, said he heard a “big sound” and thought it was a car crash.
“I heard like a strong wind and then a couple seconds later a big sound,” he said. “I thought it was a car accident. When I came outside, a boy was sitting down and he was bleeding.”
Pointing at a black awning where the piece landed first, he said: “I think this saved his life.”
Danny Boey, who manages thd neighboring store Digiso, said he called 911.
“I saw a lot of people crowded on the sidewalk,” he said. “When I saw the boy, I called 911.”
The child lives in the neighborhood and frequents his variety store, which sells school supplies and other items, he said.
“The building is old, like 100 years old,” he said, adding that he’s never seen anything fall off of it before.
Daisy Rincon, who works in the store, told The Post that she heard the boy “screaming and yelling out of pain.”
“When I went out, I did see him on the ground, and his parents were holding him, trying to sit him down,” the 22-year-old recalled. “So it was a kind of really panicky situation.”
A woman who was selling jewelry across the street told The Post she heard a scream.
“It was a frightening scream,” said the woman, who declined to give her name.
“Soon after, I heard the sirens,” she said. “I thought there was a fire. Scary. Very scary.”
The teen was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition and was expected to survive, cops said.
Photos from the scene show a triangle shaped piece of broken concrete lying in front of the two-story building, which is landmarked, according to city records.