Independence water tower narrowly misses home during demolition

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - An old water tower in Independence that was in the process of being dismantled fell the wrong way, toward a home during demolition on Tuesday.

The tower crashed down on top of power lines, onto a yard and mere feet away from a home. No injuries were reported, but a car received minor damage. The City of Independence says the car owner was asked to move their car ahead of the demo, but they declined.

David Lee Roberts, who lives nearby, said signs were posted on homes letting homeowners and renters know they would be bringing the old water tower down on Tuesday.

“I went to work knowing they were taking it down today,” said Roberts. “I was watching it on my security camera from work. I saw the cranes went up, lines.”

He says his boss called him into his office saying lines on the tower broke. Roberts says he quickly rushed home, getting there just before 2 p.m.

“I heard the snapping and the popping,” said Roberts. “I was talking to one of the neighbors out there in the street, saying it’s not supposed to be leaning that way. The next thing you know, it turned and twisted and started to go towards this house and that house and ended up in that yard. If it hadn’t of buckled where it did, yeah, those people, it would have been horrible.”

Roberts said his only thought was of the people who lived there, so he took off down the road towards the tower as it fell.

“Just tried to get over here as fast as I could,” said Roberts. “When it hit the ground, it bounced me. I fell down, got back up, and ran around the corner and realized it didn’t touch the house because it buckled. If it hadn’t buckled where it did, those people, it would have been horrible. By the grace of God, no one was hurt.”

S Osage Road between W Pacific Avenue and W Walnut Street, which was already closed for the demo, remained closed for the rest of the day as crews dismantled the fallen tower.

As it came down, the tower fell on power lines, knocking out the power for a few for several hours. Crews cleared the wreckage off the road so a power company crew could restore the power.

The City of Independence says the tower was structurally unsound, pieces had been falling off of it, and it was getting more and more expensive to take care of it, so it had to come down. They noted the company that was chosen for the demo is insured and will continue to remove the tower.

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