10-year-old boy is dead after a large airport sign abruptly collapsed on a family of five trapping and critically injuring the boy's mother and her four children on Friday afternoon.
Police in Alabama say Heather Bresette and her children, between 6 and 10-years-old, were standing beneath a flight information sign at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport when without warning it fell.
Luke Bresette, 10, was pronounced dead at Children's of Alabama, said Deputy Coroner Derrick Perryma. His mother is said to be in critical condition at University Hospital, spokeswoman Nicole Wyatt said.
There's no word yet on the other children's condition with two said to be hospitalized.
Tragedy: Heather Bresette and her four children were injured when an airport sign abruptly collapsed, killing her 10-year-old son
Crushed: The giant flight status sign, estimated to weigh between 300-400 pounds, is seen resting on the ground of the brand new airport terminal that was just opened last week
The sign weighing between 300 and 400 pounds took eight to 10 bystanders to lift it off the family said Birmingham Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Donald Jones.
The children's father is said to have been checking them in at the nearby Southwest desk, according to a witness, when the horrific incident occurred around 1.30pm.
The coroner's office and the hospital did not disclose the family's hometown.
‘The 300-plus pound sign toppled and hit the family without warning,’ witness to the scene Albert Osorio told AL.com.
‘The whole thing flipped down on those kids. It took all of us here to stand it back up. Everybody started screaming.’
Family: The conditions of Mrs Bresette and her other three children are unknown at this time with witnesses saying their father was checking them in at a desk when it fell
Closed off: Two workers are seen cleaning in a closed off section of the terminal where the large sign, said to be between 300-400 pounds, fell off the wall
Questions: An investigation is now underway into how the sign fell with the Birmingham's mayor offering the airport his full support in their investigation, the family seen here
Trapped: A witness says the family had been checking in at a Southwest desk around 1.30pm when it fell without warning, trapping the mother, pictured, and her children underneath
The terminal has since closed with no word yet on when it will reopen.
A spokesperson for the airport told WBRC an investigation is underway into why the board fell with the cause not immediately known.
Birmingham's mayor William Bell released a statement immediately after the incident promising his full support.
'I have offered our full support to the Airport Authority as they investigate what has occurred this afternoon. I have asked our public safety staff to assist this family in their time of need in any way possible as they grapple with what has happened,' the statement read.
The board was in a new terminal of the airport which opened last week following a $201 million modernization effort.
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