Five Trapped, Baby Dies When Building Falls
A five-story building undergoing structural renovation in Greenwich Village collapsed Wednesday, pinning five occupants under tons of rubble and killing one of them, a 13-month-old boy.
The first two victims, a man and a woman, were pulled from the rubble just after the building collapsed about 10:30 a.m. and were not seriously injured.
After the baby was pulled out, rescue workers made voice contact with another victim, Dawn Barton, 32, who worked as a housekeeper in the building. She was rescued about 2 1/2 hours after the collapse.
‘Help Me, Help Me’
Firefighter John Hendrie said Barton cried, “Help me, help me,” repeatedly as rescue workers gingerly used shovels and their bare hands to dig away the debris piece by piece. Others propped up the rubble with beams.
The last person was pulled out at 1:40 p.m.
All were rushed to hospitals. The baby, Peter DeLuca Jr., was pronounced dead of “cardiopulmonary arrest due to multiple trauma” at St. Vincent’s Hospital, officials said.
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