Soccer game kept woman away from condo wing that collapsed

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — 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.”