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I have a question about the use of "as well as" and "as did". Which would fit better in the following sentence?

  • When the earthquake began, at least fifteen men and women fell to the ground, as did many children playing in the park that day.

I appreciate any assistance you can provide.

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    Try a simpler example: The children all sat down, as did their parents. That is related to The children all sat down, as their parents sat down. The did is a pro-verb, referring to sat down in the first clause. You can also say The children all sat down, as their parents did. But did can optionally be fronted to come after as, as it has in this example.
    – John Lawler
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 18:43
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    Which fits better depends on what meaning you want. The two mean different things: as well as refers to the number, as did to the action. You can't use as did if there is no action or you're referring to the object of an action (e.g. "He brought 100 crackers as well as some cheese.")
    – Stuart F
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 19:39

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With this structure, there is (in general) some potential for ambiguity with "as well as":

Five people talked to Alice, as well as Bob.

Did five people talk to Bob, or did Bob talk to Alice?

In your sentence there is little possibility of ambiguity, since it is unclear how "men and women" could fall to "many children", so either of your suggestions is fine.

By the way, the possibility of ambiguity can be eliminated by moving the extraposed phrase next to its parent:

When the earthquake began, at least fifteen men and women (as well as many children playing in the park that day) fell to the ground.

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