3 Die, 8 Injured as 2-Story Brick Facade Falls

A two-story brick storefront collapsed onto a busy downtown sidewalk Tuesday, crushing three people to death and injuring eight others, authorities said.

Among the 11 caught in the collapse were four police officers who had been walking their beats, authorities said.

The facade apparently was weighted down by metal signs and security gates that had been anchored in the wall, Fire Commissioner Roger Ulshafer said.

The collapse occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. between 9th and 10th streets on the south side of Market Street, five blocks from Independence Hall.

“I looked up and saw a wall of bricks coming at me and all I could do was close my eyes,” said Neil Daniel, who was fixing his car. “I heard people start screaming.”

Alom Kadosh, manager of Stereo Sound, said he had been sitting in the front of the store when the wall gave way.

“It happened so fast you couldn’t see anything,” he said. “But, as soon as it happened, people went outside and everybody pitched in to help pull off the bricks and the metal that covered the people that had been trapped underneath.”

One woman died of a crushed chest and another of head injuries; a man died of a crushed chest, a hospital spokeswoman said.

All of the dead and injured were on the sidewalk. There were no injuries inside the three different buildings that shared the brick facade, authorities said.