Baby Hurt, Dozens Displaced After Ceiling Collapse In Hialeah

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

HIALEAH (CBSMiami) -- Nearly two dozen people are out of a home after heavy rains led to a partial roof collapse in Hialeah.

Wind and rain caused the ceiling to cave in at an apartment complex near the 700 block of West 2nd Avenue.

"I thought it was just a leak," Rigoberto Gonzalez told reporters in Spanish. "I didn't think it would rain this hard. I put a bucket where the leak was but then everything came down."

Hialeah fire officials said some of the debris fell on an 8-month-old baby named Leandro Vejerano. The child has facial injuries, but they are not considered life threatening.

Crews rushed the child to Ryder Trauma Center. The child was alert and conscious at the time.

The collapsed ceiling also displaced 12 families in the apartment building meaning 21 people are in need of assistance.

"We have six apartments on one side, side apartments on another and it was under construction, redoing the roofing, I guess it had tarps out," said Hialeah Fire Capt. David Rodriguez. "This torrential rain comes down, the water comes into the ceiling area and the ceiling has collapsed in one of the apartments."

Residents were seen gathering the belongings that weren't damaged and trying to figure out what they're going to do.

"The bed, the mattress, the TV, everything is ruined," said Areybis Espinosa, who's now displaced. "Because of the roof, everything has water on it."

Hialeah's Fire Department has called the Red Cross for help for the displaced families. Residents will not be able to go back to the building until it is deemed safe.

The owners have started a GoFundMe page for the displaced families.