A canopy was blown from the roof of Ponce City Market, hitting two people nine stories below Sunday evening.
Their injuries were not considered life-threatening, Atlanta police spokesman Officer Jarius Daugherty told Channel 2 Action News.
The large canvas canopy, its metal beams and its electrical string lights were picked up by wind just before 8 p.m., when a second wave of thunderstorms hit metro Atlanta, the news station reported. The roof of the popular shopping and dining destination and its attractions were closed at the time because of weather concerns.
“The wind picked up, (and) next thing we knew, we heard this loud bang,” said Wendell Higgs, who was in a Starbucks across the street. “It sounded like somebody crashed into a building. A couple of guys went out there just to make sure nobody got hurt.”
The canopy came crashing down in front of the building near a MARTA bus shelter, taking out electrical wires on the way down.
Authorities shut down Ponce de Leon Avenue in both directions until just after 11 p.m. to remove the structure and repair the downed wires, according to Channel 2.
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