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Cherry Hill building-collapse victim ID'd

A worker killed Friday in the collapse of a building being demolished in Cherry Hill was identified Saturday as a 38-year-old Camden man.

A Wawa spokeswoman said those involved were a "longtime general contractor and subcontractor," and said the death was the first such incident in its 50-year history of building more than 1,000 stores.
A Wawa spokeswoman said those involved were a "longtime general contractor and subcontractor," and said the death was the first such incident in its 50-year history of building more than 1,000 stores.Read more
    by By Vernon Clark, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

A worker killed Friday in the collapse of a building being demolished in Cherry Hill was identified Saturday as a 38-year-old Camden man.

Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said the victim, Jose Ortega, was killed instantly in the collapse of the building on Route 38 about 12:30 p.m.

Officials said Ortega evidently was inside the structure, a former Blockbuster video store at the edge of the Walmart Plaza at Cuthbert Boulevard that was being razed to make room for a "Super Wawa."

Federal officials on Friday said the victim was a day laborer who had been working for a subcontractor.

The accident occurred when a cinderblock wall and a metal roof collapsed during demolition.

Cherry Hill Fire Director Patrick Kelly said the building was "98 percent down" before the collapse.

A second worker, who officials said was operating an excavator when the building fell, was taken to Kennedy University Hospital-Cherry Hill with chest pains. Officials said he was expected to survive.

Documents show that Carl R. Pursell Inc. of Berlin was the contractor at the site and that Mancuso Contractors Inc. of Maple Shade was the subcontractor.

The accident remains under investigation.