SURFSIDE, Fla. — A soccer game may have saved Patricia Avilez’s life.

Avilez’s brother-in-law lives in a condo located in the wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building that collapsed in a town outside Miami early Thursday, killing at least one person.

When the brother-in-law isn’t there, Avilez routinely stops by to pick up the mail and make sure everything in the condo is in order.

“Last night I was thinking, “Let me go over there to sleep over night,” she said. “I was looking at the soccer game and I changed my mind and I stayed home.”

She said she woke up at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and headed over to the apartment. On the way, she heard on the radio about the collapse.

“And then I came here and it’s gone,” she said. “Everything is disaster.”

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Demonstrators protest President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Presidents Day in front of the Capitol in Atlanta on Monday, February 17, 2025, as part of nationwide demonstrations organized by the 50501 movement. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

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