WARNING: This article is an account of another deck failure. Please check your own deck for rot, wood destroying insects, and inadequate securment to the home. 

18 Wedding Guest Hurt When Balcony Collapses
August 27, 1995

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah -- Eighteen wedding reception guests were injured, two of them critically, when a wooden balcony collapsed Saturday Night.

The people were gathered on a backyard deck on a home at 3609 E. Escalade Ave (8730 South) about 9 P.M. when it collapsed, sending people into the oak brush. Neighbor Troy Vigil was standing outside the home when he heard a series of pops that sounded like "timber falling."

"I ran out onto the deck after I realized what was happening and people just started screaming," Vigil said.

Six people were taken to area hospitals. Two of them - an elderly woman with a broken femur and a man with internal injuries - were in critical condition.

Twelve others were being treated at the scene for minor injuries.

An investigation is pending, but Morris said there was "possibly a little too much load on the balcony."

The owners of the home declined comment and kept reporters and photographers off the property.

Morris describes the accident as a "lean-to collapse," adding he was uncertain about the age of the balcony.

"It's a real shock, you never something like this to happen," said one neighbor who asked not to be identified. "I entertain on my redwood deck all of the time, but this gives me a whole new worry."

Continue reading about a deck failure caused by a Kiddie Pool.