Mom and Daughter Speak Out After Surviving Fla. Condo Collapse That Killed Husband and 97 Others

Jason Duaine Hahn
·2 min read
Mother, Daughter Share Survival Story After Falling Through Concrete in Fla. Condo Collapse
Mother, Daughter Share Survival Story After Falling Through Concrete in Fla. Condo Collapse

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Two months after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida, a mother and daughter who were among the few to survive the tragedy are sharing their story.

Part of the 12-story high-rise fell in the early morning hours of June 24, killing 98 residents. Taylor Gonzalez — who lived in the building with her mother Angela, sister Deven and father Edgar — wasn't home at the time of the collapse and feared her family had been killed, she recalled to TODAY.

"They told me that if they were on that side of the building, there wasn't going to be any survivors," Taylor, who lived on the ninth floor of the apartment, told the outlet in an interview published Thursday. "So that was a very difficult night."

Miraculously, Angela and Deven survived the ordeal. Edgar, meanwhile, was listed among those who had died in the tragedy.

"Whoever thinks a building's going to collapse on you?" Angela said of the nightmarish event.

RELATED: 911 Calls from Surfside Condo Residents Detail Aftermath of Collapse: 'We've Gotta Get Out'

Surfside condo collapse
Surfside condo collapse

Joe Raedle/Getty The Surfside Condo building

"I just screamed, 'Run!' We made it maybe right out of our bedroom, maybe a couple steps right out of our bedroom and then the floor just started to cave," she recalled to TODAY. "It just felt like an earthquake."

Angela had been watching a movie on television with Edgar just before the building fell, while Deven was in bed.

"I remember Mom yelling, 'Run!' and dragging me out of bed," Deven remembered. "I was half asleep. I thought I was dreaming at that point."

RELATED: Therapy Dogs Deployed to Ease Sadness, Stress at Site of Surfside Condo Collapse

miami condo
miami condo

Joe Raedle/Getty Surfside condo collapse

Deven experienced a crushed left femur and a severe wound to her leg that caused her to lose large amounts of blood. Surrounded by rubble, she began searching for objects to rest her leg on while calling out for her mother.

"For the first 15 minutes I didn't hear my mom, I didn't know where anyone was, and it was me constantly screaming for help," she told TODAY.

RELATED VIDEO: Video Shows Moment Boy Is Rescued From Rubble of Collapsed Building

Deven and Angela were eventually rescued by emergency workers and recovered in the hospital. Angela spent five days in a coma and woke on her birthday, telling TODAY that she then was told about her husband's death.

"He was my best friend, he was my — my person," she told the outlet. "So every day, you go to sleep, and then you wake up and your whole life is completely different."

On July 4, the remainder of the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo was demolished and cleared away weeks later. The final victim of the collapse, Estelle Hedaya, who lived in unit 604 of the Champlain Towers South condo, was identified on July 26.