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By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I try not to go anywhere without my trusty camera - you just never know when something interesting is going to literally pop up right in front of your eyes. Yesterday afternoon I was driving through El Cangrejo toward Via Transistmica in a driving rainstorm. It was raining pretty hard and the wind was gusting. There was one car about 20 meters in front of me and a man walking on the right hand sidewalk, sheltering from the storm under an umbrella. Then from above I saw a streak of white coming from the sky and falling very quickly toward the ground. I didn't know what the hell it was but it hit the ground hard and stuck in like a huge lawn dart - right between the car in the street on the left and the guy who was walking up the sidewalk on the right. It was a ten foot long 2 x 4 that had fallen from the apartment tower that was being constructed on the left side of the road, and it just barely missed both the car and the pedestrian. (more)
Stopped To Take Pictures: I put on my four-way flashers and got out of my car to snap some pictures. While I was reaching for my camera I heard construction workers who were at ground level in front of the building say "hey, run over there and get that, quick!" They didn't know who I was or what I was doing, but they knew somebody could have gotten killed by the falling hunk of wood and they made a feeble attempt to make like nothing happened.
"Screw That..." By then I was already out of my car with my camera and had managed to snap a couple of pictures of the 2 x 4 and where it had landed like a huge lawn dart. The construction worker who had initially ran across the street to retrieve it thought better of his plan, and decided to retreat back to the safety of the building. Hey, he had not lost control of the thing, right? He didn't want to be caught on camera hauling it back over to the building.
Not Really a 2 x 4 They call these a "regla" and it's a piece of wood normally used by guys who are applying stucco to concrete block walls to keep things level and straight. It's about 10' long, 1" thick and about 3" wide.
This Is The Building: You can see the building this piece of wood fell from, under construction in El Cangrejo, on the right. From my experience the kind of work crews that let something like this happen once, will likely do it again. So, Heads Up: With all of the construction going on in Panama City it seems like we all should be walking around with hardhats on, all of the time. If this thing had flown just about 18" further to the right it would have literally speared the guy who was walking along the sidewalk. His umbrella would have offered little protection and he would have been either killed or seriously injured. Be careful out there, and be aware when you're around a building under construction. Don't expect the work crews or anyone else to make sure that you're safe on the ground.
Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.
I'm glad no one was hurt, but that was definitely an irresponsible thing on the construction workers part. They should have been more careful, and this can happen anywhere, not just in Panama so it's good to be on the lookout and stay alert at all times.
When I read news like this I always get angry. People should think with their heads more!The people at the construction building should have put some protection outside the building...And the ordinary people shouldn't walk near that building.
Wow... seeing the picture with that piece of wood stuck in the ground I could almost picture what could have happen if it fell on someone! I'm sure it happens anyway, people die in those unbelievable accidents but nothing is done to ensure better safety measures in construction.
As for the person walking near the construction zone, it might have been the only route available by foot. So maybe the person had no other choice, but I didn't see any construction warning signs or cones so that's bad. They should have at least put a few to remind people of any possible danger.
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