A harrowing scene unfolded at a New Jersey BJ's Wholesale as the roof collapsed under the weight of torrential rain—but one shopper was undeterred.
Video footage of the terrifying collapse has gone viral, and the destruction that ensued was eye-catching enough.
But for many online, one feature of the video stood out above all else: a man who never let go of his shopping cart despite being directly in the path of the collapse. Relatable!
The collapse occurred Tuesday morning in Ocean Township, New Jersey, as major rainstorms and flooding moved through the area.
At around 11:30 that morning, the roof in the warehouse store's bakery section gave way under the weight of so much water, sending a deluge through the store and hurling a wave of debris toward shoppers.
@nbcnewyork The roof collapsed Monday at the BJ's in Oakhurst. Customers managed to film the aftermath of the incident and flooding of the store. No injuries were immediately reported. One witness said the collapse happened in the chip aisle. He said a 50-foot section of roof came down about 20 feet from him.
Local authorities said that roughly 20% of the store's roof caved in, but thankfully all 27 shoppers in the store at the time were safely accounted for and, somehow, not even injured in the incident.
Which is pretty miraculous given the shocking scope of the damage, which several shoppers were able to capture on social media.
Various footage shows not just the eye-popping portion of the roof that actually gave way, but the extent to which inches of water flooded an enormous proportion of the store.
That's to say nothing of the heaps of debris, building materials, crushed displays and, of course, damaged merchandise strewn around the store.
But for many viewing the footage online, one thing jumped out more than any other: the incredibly dedicated shopper who was NOT gonna let go of his shopping cart, come literal hell or high water!
The shopper, who appears to be an elderly man, can be seen perusing the bakery area directly under the impact point of the roof's collapse. The fact he wasn't injured alone seems like a small miracle.
But hilariously, as he scurried away from the collapse, he dragged his shopping cart right along with him!
Seconds later the deluge of rainwater rushed through the store, ramming a huge bakery display directly into him. But if you think that made him let go of that cart? Reader, you would be wrong!
Naturally, the man has become one of the internet's new favorite people.
Quite the legend, this lone BJ's shopper!
It really is a wonder that everyone came away unscathed. Speaking to local media, shoppers details just how harrowing the situation was.
One, Ken Kalada, described the experience to News12 New Jersey:
“I mean it was a thunderous boom. It made my ears ring. There was a girder nearby and I just leaned into that. There was a lot of yelling, a lot screaming."
Seems like a true disaster was narrowly averted, thankfully for all the shoppers—and one man's shopping cart!
