A two-story building collapsed in the Bronx, killing one man and almost claimed the life of his co-worker. The man who lost his life was not identified but was noted to be a married, father of three who lived locally.
The workers were on site around 8:00 am operating jackhammers on the first floor of the building when the roof began to collapse on top of them. The men were breaking down the cement around a column which appeared to collapse.
The surviving worker, Orlando Acetty, ran towards the rear of the building and into the basement while his co-worker ran toward the front entrance of the building. Acetty told reporters he saw the ceiling come down on his head within seconds.
Firemen raced to the scene and were able to rescue Acetty from the basement after witness on the street called for help. Acetty was said to not be moving or breathing when he was rescued. His coworker was pulled from the collapsed building and taken to the Jacobi Medical Center where he died a short time later.
The owner of the building, Stafford West LLC was cited with a $6,000 fine in 2009 stemming from violations associated with the pool hall that was housed on the second floor which collapsed on the workers. The fine was due to the operation of a pool hall in that building.
Acetty has been released from the hospital. He went back to the scene of the collapse and mentioned to reporters about his luck at still being alive after the incident. The construction work is said to have been ongoing for the last month. The ground floor where the men were working was said to be a restaurant.
