As the weather gets warmer, lots of people will be hanging out on porches--and one man recently injured in a porch collapse says he just wants to remind people to also think about safety.
"I'm in a lot of pain," Ray Echevarria said. "It's hard to walk."
Echevarria said its too uncomfortable to even look at where it happened. He said he's fortunate to be alive.
Days ago, he was at a party at a building in the Andersonville celebrating Midsommarfest in the 5100 block of North Ashland Avenue.
"My best friend asked me to come this party his upstairs neighbor was throwing," Echevarria told NBC 5 in an interview Wednesday.
He made it to the first floor porch before the unthinkable happened.
"I heard a crack, I felt something hit my head, I went to the ground, hit my back," he recalled. "I looked up and saw the porch on top of me."
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The porch on the second floor gave way and injured several partygoers. A picture taken shortly after the collapse shows a group of dazed and injured people in the scattered remains of the porch.
"When I looked up I could see the nails from porch above me," Echevarria said. "There were some broken bones, scrapes and bruises."
With the weather heating up and people partying on porches, Echevarria said he is concerned.
"Decks need to be to a certain level of safety," he told NBC 5. "I've been to a lot of parties like this where the deck was super packed."
He also said people should use common sense if something does not feel right.
"Just be aware, if you notice too many people on the deck, or feel uncomfortable--get off of it," he said.
NBC 5 spoke to the person who threw the party. He said inspectors are still trying to determine why the porch collapsed.
He also says the owner of the building plans to pay the medical bills for those who were injured.
