KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development across the Kansas City area. Share your story idea with Caroline.
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A complaint about a midtown business was filed with the City of Kansas City just two days before a roof partially collapsed at a Family Dollar store at 3726 Broadway Boulevard.
The complaint, which is still open, stated that the building was "slowly tilting."
Sunday's collapse at the store killed one man, critically injured a woman.
Two other people were treated for injuries at the collapse scene.
Carlos Sustaita told me he witnessed a car crash into the same spot of the building in October 2016. The crash damaged a support beam that was never replaced.
"It was just a matter of time," Sustaita said. "Yeah, I knew it was bound to happen."
Sustaita explained that he was at CSL Plasma when he saw the crash.
"And it hit, and it knocked over that support beam," Sustaita said.
Google Earth archive images confirm the support beam was never replaced after the 2016 incident.
"I told them, 'You guys need to do something weeks later,"' Sustaita said. "Of course, they didn't listen. They just looked at me."
Kansas City, Missouri, Councilman Crispin Rea has questions about the city's response system for building complaints.
"I have questions about staffing, and if there is more support we need to be providing through the budget, and through the decisions that we make," Rea said.
Currently, residents can report non-emergency concerns through the city's 311 service or mobile app.
911 is remains the number to call to report an emergency.
"Thoughts and prayers are great, but actions are most important, and that's what we need to do on our end at the city," Rea said.
Sustaita continues to speak up when he notices potential safety issues in his community.
"It's my community, you know, my family goes into all these different businesses here," Sustaita said. "I feel terrible for the, for the gentleman and whoever got hurt. It's terrible. That's someone's loved one."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
