WASHINGTON — The family member of a man that was rescued from a collapsed building on Kennedy Street in Northwest D.C. Thursday afternoon told WUSA9 that he is recovering from surgery after breaking his spine during the unforeseen impact.
The 27-year-old male worker was admitted into Medstar Washington Hospital Center following the incident and is still at the hospital as of Friday evening.
A woman, who said she is the victim's sister, told us that the surgery would likely determine if her brother will ever be able to walk again. She said the long and extensive surgery went very well, however, he still cannot feel from the knee down.
The sister told WUSA9's Kolbie Satterfield that the family is continuing to pray that things will improve ahead of a long road to recovery.
She said although he is a survivor of the building collapse, this was a traumatizing experience for him. She added that for a period of time during the collapse and rescue operation he thought he was going to die.
Several construction workers were also injured from the collapse, D.C. Fire and EMS said. Four workers who were involved were transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to officials, the major building collapse happened just before 3:30 p.m. Thursday at 916 Kennedy Street, Northwest.
D.C. Fire and EMS told WUSA9 that the five-story building that collapsed was currently under construction. The building collapse occurred as severe weather swept through the DMV area.
D.C. Fire and EMS officials actively engaged in a rescue effort to reach and remove the trapped male worker. As of 4:55 p.m., crews successfully removed the trapped worker and transported him to the hospital.
