By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A FATHER was forced to hold up a falling wall in Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre so his wife and children could rush to safety.
Three people were taken to hospital by ambulance after the temporary wall collapsed inside the shopping centre around 12.30pm on Tuesday, and three others were treated on the scene, but everyone hurt is in a stable condition.
No-one had been trapped under the wall, despite earlier reports.
A man in his fifties was taken to Casey Hospital with a head injury, while a woman in her eighties was taken to Dandenong Hospital, also with an injury to her head.
A woman in her thirties, who just missed being hit by the collapsing wall, was transported to Frankston Hospital with a medical condition, but is stable.
It’s believed Tuesday’s strong winds caused roughly 50 metres of the temporary wall to fall, which had been set up in front of one of the stores still under construction at the newly refurbished shopping centre.
Rob Boon was walking towards K-Mart with his wife and kids, one a toddler in a pram, when the wall fell and he bore the brunt on his shoulders so his family could escape.
“I heard this massive crack and as I looked forward I saw the wall start to wave in the wind,” Rob said.
“You could hear four or five cracks as all the mounting points attached to the roof started to crack away.
“Another gust of wind and it all lurched out and started to come out.”
Rob saw a doctor after the incident to treat the pain he’d suffered in his shoulders and back but his family were unscathed.
“In the moment you go, gee I’ve got to hold this thing to stop it falling on people and protect my wife and kids, and afterward you go – what actually happened?” he said.
“Some people were standing back shaking; my wife was in instant shock.
“Because of where I was standing I delayed it another second or too which was enough to get the kids out of the way.”
