Feb. 19 (UPI) — A 58-year-old New York man is dead after a piece of a fire escape from a Manhattan apartment building fell on top of him.
Richard Marchhart was walking down a street in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood on Friday when the object weighing more than 100 pounds fell. A 24-year-old woman was also injured by the falling debris.
“The man was bleeding. Both of them were on the sidewalk on the ground,” said Robert Barila, a vendor who witnessed the incident, according to AM New York. “I’m out here in the city every day and stuff falling from the sky is scary.”
New York Fire Department Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala Jr. said a building inspector was standing on the fire escape when it came loose and fell seven stories onto Marchhart, CBS New York reported.
“She actually fell partially through the fire escape,” Gala said of the inspector. “Thankfully she was able to pull herself up.”
A prior inspection of the building in 2013 found no safety violation. Friday’s inspection was part of a routine evaluation New York City apartment buildings are required to have every five years.
Marchhart left behind a wife and three children.
