Witness: Center City demolition leading to collapse "wasn't normal."
Darryl Alston said he had been involved in demolition since he was 12, when his contractor father took him to job sites.
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Darryl Alston said he had been involved in demolition since he was 12, when his contractor father took him to job sites.
But never, Alston told a Philadelphia jury Monday, had he seen a building demolished the way the four-story Hoagie City building was in 2013.
"There were big holes in the middle of the building," Alston said. "Joists were gone. . . . It wasn't normal, it didn't seem structurally sound."
It was so unusual that Alston took out his cellphone the morning of June 5, 2013, to show friends a video of the unsupported three- to four-story masonry wall looming over the one-story Salvation Army thrift store at 22d and Market.
Minutes later, as excavator operator Sean Benschop picked at a beam in a building remnant, Alston's fear became reality.
The freestanding wall toppled on the thrift store and the site disappeared in a cloud of dust.
"It was chaotic; you could hear people screaming," said Alston, who said he ran to the debris pile to help survivors get to safety.
Alston, 43, testified on the third day of the prosecution's case against demolition contractor Griffin Campbell, on trial before a Common Pleas Court jury on six counts of third-degree murder, 12 counts of reckless endangerment, and one of aggravated assault in the collapse that killed six and injured 13.
Only Campbell and Benschop, 44, the excavator operator he hired, have been criminally charged in the collapse of a building being demolished at 2136-38 Market St.
Benschop pleaded guilty July 21 to six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 12 counts of reckless endangerment, one count of aggravated assault, and related charges in a deal with prosecutors for a 10- to 20-year prison term. Benschop will testify, prosecutors said.
Alston testified that he grew up a few houses from Campbell and had known Benschop about six months. Benschop had no car and when Campbell hired Benschop and his excavator, Benschop hired Alston to drive him.
Alston testified that he was only on site at 22d and Market on June 2, 4, and 5, but was uncomfortable with what he saw.
Defense lawyer William D. Hobson asked Alston if he warned Benschop. Alston said he did but added: "He had 20-plus years on the job. It was not for me to tell him how to do something."
Prosecutors allege that Campbell was trying to maximize the salvage value of materials inside the Hoagie City building and removed wood beams and joists inside, leaving exterior walls unsupported.
Alston testified that a building taller than its neighbor could only be safely demolished by hand, from the roof to the ground.
When he saw the building before it collapsed, Alston said, the safe options were gone and an excavator should not have been used.
"Once you start bringing machinery," Alston told the jury, "you're trying to speed up the process."
In fact, Plato A. Marinakos Jr., the architect hired by property owner Richard Basciano and his STB Properties to prepare the site for a major complex of apartments, retail and commercial, testified earlier that Basciano was angry demolition was so far behind.
Marinakos testified that Campbell was supposed to have finished demolition by April. Basciano, who lived in Center City, regularly walked by the site and was not happy at the lack of progress, Marinakos testified.
Marinakos, who was granted immunity from prosecution for testifying against Campbell and Benschop, finished his third day on the witness stand Monday.
Once again, Marinakos' testimony supported the prosecutors' theory that Campbell bore primary responsibility for what happened on June 5, 2013.
But his incriminating testimony wore thin on Campbell, the 51-year-old Hunting Park contractor whom Marinakos hired for the Market Street job and once praised for his demolition expertise.
Campbell's reaction didn't go unnoticed by Judge Glenn B. Bronson who, after excusing the jury, warned Campbell about his grimaces, glares, and head-shaking as Marinakos testified.
"Even if it's a lie?" Campbell asked the judge.
"You'll have your chance when you testify," Bronson reminded Campbell.
"This is my life!" Campbell shot back, voice rising in anger.
As Hobson quickly moved to calm his client, Bronson again warned Campbell that he must follow court rules.
On the witness stand, Marinakos, a chubby, boyish-looking man, sat shifting his weight uneasily, glancing at Assistant District Attorneys Edward Cameron and Jennifer Selber.
Hobson spent all Monday morning questioning Marinakos, adding detail to his argument that the trial is about making Campbell the scapegoat for wealthy developers, professionals and city officials who he said should also have been criminally charged.
215-854-2985 @joeslobo