A huge pane of glass fell 23 stories from a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, pelting the street below with shards and fragments. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
The outer pane of the double-glazed glass wall of the 23-floor Sky Lobby of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard shattered and dropped just after midnight on Sept. 20.
By luck, she wasn’t underneath the cascade of falling glass.
“It was the right place, right time, and the whole thing just came down,” she said. “I went down to the valet area to leave and more glass kept falling.”
Everybody got lucky, in fact—despite the deluge of dangerous shards falling all that distance onto the street below, somehow no one was hit.
Window Exploded for Causes Unknown
Workers from It Works Glass Services were called in to examine the scene.Troy Strain, the owner of It Works, told NBC that the cause for the spontaneous shattering remained a mystery.
“At this point, there’s no way of telling what actually broke it. We cleared up everything and cleaned up anything that could possibly fall,” Strain said.
“It happens every once in a while. There’s no real explanation. It’s just a spontaneous thing,” he added. “It could be anything from movement. It could’ve been a bird that hit it.”
An Oasis From Craziness—With the Occasional Exploding Window
The Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas describes itself as an alternative to the adrenaline-charged atmosphere of the rest of Las Vegas nightlife, a “non-gaming alternative in the center of the main attractions.” The hotel offers three pools, a gourmet restaurant, a huge spa, even a yoga and Pilates studio.“You'll see spectacular views through floor-to-ceiling windows in your guest room or suite and from the SkyBar and the Tea Lounge on the 23rd floor,” the literature reads.
Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas spokeswoman Erica Johnson spoke to NBC about the incident.
“We can confirm that last night at approximately 12:30 a.m., the outer pane of a double pane glass window shattered in our 23rd-floor sky lobby. The inside pane is still intact,” she said.
“No guests or team members were injured and there was minimal property damage. We are currently conducting an investigation into the cause and working to repair the outer pane,” she continued. “The well-being, safety, and security of our guests are of paramount importance. The hotel continues to make every effort to ensure all practices and standards are in line with strict safety and security regulations.”
Schenkel was lucky not to have been hurt, but she didn’t seem upset by the close call. To her, it was just a little more vacation adventure.
“I’m glad no one was hurt,” she said. “It’s never a dull moment here in Vegas I guess.”
