Lawyers View Key Evidence In Center City Building Collapse
By Ileana Diaz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The latest on the investigation into the deadly Center City building collapse.
On Wednesday, lawyers for both the victims and defendants were able to view a key piece of evidence in the case.
Attorneys and investigators are measuring and taking photos of this beam from the building collapse on 22nd and Market Streets. Police told Eyewitness News it was used by the excavator Sean Benschop, who is now criminally charged and in prison, as an improvised tool to knock down the building. His civil attorney says it's now a piece of evidence.
"Was allegedly in the claw of the excavator at the time of the accident, so this is a key part of the evidence that everyone from their different perspectives wants to take a look at this," Benshop's Attorney Jack Delany said.
And Jeffrey Goodman, who represents two victims and some of the survivors in a lawsuit, agrees the beam could reveal more detail.
"Look at what marks might be on it, look at how it's bent, and to see what it that could help them determine about how it was being used," Attorney Jeffrey Goodman said.
Video from the front of a SEPTA bus shows the building collapse. It took the lives of six people, injured several, and left the entire area in rubble. Police took in debris as part of their investigation. Now that prosecutors and defense attorneys are both collecting documents, they tell Eyewitness News any evidence could make a difference.
"Every piece of evidence is important in putting together the puzzle in determining truly what happened," Delany said.
"Helping figure out what happened, why this building collapsed, and why six people unnecessarily lost their lives," Goodman said.
Attorneys are working on the collecting evidence phase of their cases and believe it could be several months before they have a deposition in court.
