NORTH LOGAN, Utah — A house party turned into a night of terror Thursday.
Police estimate about 60 people were on the deck of a house in North Logan when the excessive weight caused it to collapse.
Chelsea Beckstead, a freshman at Utah State University, was on the deck as the floor beneath her fell apart.
“The deck was just caving in and people were just sliding in and I remember falling in and seeing people falling in and landing under the nails and wooden panels,” Beckstead said.
She says the residents of the house host parties every Thursday night for other college students. This week, they were having a boys against girls competition.
They were attempting to remove shaving cream from balloons with a razor without popping the balloon and went outside to prevent making a mess in the house.
That’s when the deck collapsed.
“It caved inward, I remember I was on the outside so everyone started falling in and you couldn’t stop because the panels underneath you were just falling,” Beckstead said.
North Logan police estimate people fell about 10 to 15 feet on to the ground below.
“Everyone just fell in a big clump and that's where a lot of people got injured because of the force,” Beckstead said. “People fell on them.”
Police say two people were taken to the hospital in an ambulance with minor injuries. Others were treated on the scene.
They don’t expect to file any charges in this case because there is no law limiting the amount of people allowed on a deck or balcony. However, common sense could have prevented this accident.
“There was a need to think that through and say, you know what, we can’t have 50, 60, 70 people on this deck,” said Police Chief Kim Hawkes of the North Logan Police Department.
In a statement to FOX13, a North Logan Building official said, “As decks age, homeowners should inspect their decks frequently or hire a professional to inspect their decks.”
Neighbors who told FOX 13 they are annoyed by the weekly parties at the house, and hope this accident causes them to stop.
Police echoed that sentiment.
“As the officers conversed with the home owner, there will probably be a change in their partying schedules,” Chief Hawkes said.
Beckstead will never forget the horrifying moment when the deck gave way.
“It was kind of hard to comprehend because I was in shock,” she said. “There were a lot of people in shock, for sure.”
She is thankful more people weren’t hurt in what could have been a horrible tragedy.
“We were really lucky everyone was saying it was a miracle people didn’t get as injured as they could have,” she said.
FOX13 reached out to a man who was leaving the house in a car. He declined a request to comment.
