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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 20 april 2023
Parking garage collapses in NYC, killing 1; 5 injured

By TED SHAFFREY, BOBBY City Buildings Department
CAINA CALVAN and JENNI- records show the three-
FER PELTZ Associated Press story structure has been a
NEW YORK (AP) — A park- garage at least since the
ing garage collapsed Tues- 1920s, and there are no re-
day in lower Manhattan’s cent permits for construc-
Financial District, killing one tion. Messages were left for
worker, injuring five and a parking company that
crushing cars as concrete lists the garage as one of its
floors fell on top of each properties.
other like a stack of pan- The collapse left the build-
cakes, officials said. ing “completely unstable,”
Vehicles tumbled into what Adams said at a news con-
looked like a frozen stream ference. Esposito said fire-
of sedans and SUVs. People fighters had to pull out be-
nearby described a fear- cause of the danger, con-
some rumbling, followed by ducting searches instead
screams. with a drone and robotic
Ahmed Scott arrived to col- dog. The building was “all
lect his car after work and the way pancaked, col-
found a disaster in the mak- lapsed all the way to the
ing. cellar floor,” acting Build-
In a video he shot from ings Commissioner Kazimir
across the street, someone Vilenchik said.
off-camera yells, “Guard! Firefighters work at the scene of a partial collapse of a parking garage in the Financial District of William Flashnick, 19, was in
911! 911! There’s a building New York, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in New York. a Pace classroom when he
collapsing on Ann Street,” Associated Press and his friends thought they
followed by the sound opened up inside, like rescued via a neighboring classroom building, and heard an explosion and
of something crumpling. that’s how violent it was.” roof after being trapped on canceled all evening class- ran to a window to look. As
About 45 seconds later, two Other students described an upper floor, he said. es as it assessed the build- they opened the window,
women run out, saying the seeing cars falling in the “He was conscious and ings’ safety. School officials a plume of thick dust rose
building fell while they were building. One vehicle land- alert and moving around, sent the displaced students in the air.
inside it. A man stands on a ed on its end in the garage calling us. He just couldn’t to a student center while When it cleared, they
fire escape as bystanders entrance, a photo posted get down,” Esposito said. working out other accom- peered down into the park-
try to figure out how to help by Mayor Eric Adams’ of- Four of the injured were modations. ing structure, where cars
him get down. He eventu- fice showed. hospitalized and in stable Don Mulligan was on the were tossed asunder and
ally did, Scott said. Authorities believed they condition, and the fifth re- 17th floor of a nearby hotel a top deck had cracked
“I hope ain’t nobody else in had accounted for every- fused medical attention, when he heard a roar like a open. Flashnick initially
there,” Scott recalled think- one inside the building, but he said. The garage caved jet flying overhead and felt worried for all of their lives.
ing, worrying for the ga- searches continued Tues- in around 4 p.m., a few the high-rise sway. One of his first thoughts was
rage workers he’d gotten day evening to make sure blocks from City Hall and “You knew something was of the World Trade Cen-
to know. no one was in any of the the Brooklyn Bridge, and happening,” said Mulligan, ter, which looms over the
To Jadess Speller, a student squashed cars, Fire Depart- about half a mile (0.8 km) of Cincinnati. The hotel was neighborhood.
at nearby Pace University, ment Chief of Operations from the New York Stock evacuated, he said. “We freaked out. Given the
the collapse “felt like an John Esposito said. One Exchange. Pace evacuat- It wasn’t immediately clear history of this place, it’s a
earthquake -- like the earth garage employee was ed an adjacent dorm and what caused the collapse. little scary,” he said. q

FBI: Ex-Maryland aide didn’t plan travel for fraud trial

BALTIMORE (AP) — A for- Knoxville, Tennessee. He davit from an FBI agent re- viding service between received a $233,650 sev-
mer top Maryland official died at a hospital. Authori- questing a search warrant Florida and Baltimore, MD erance payment from his
who skipped his trial on cor- ties have released no de- for McGrath’s home, Mc- did not reveal any plane old job as head of a state-
ruption charges and died tails on how McGrath was Grath did not have plane ticket or reservation for owned corporation before
last month as a fugitive in wounded or what led up to tickets or travel reserva- McGrath’s travel to Mary- moving to the governor’s
an armed confrontation the shooting. tions in the days before his land,” according to court office. McGrath was indict-
with federal agents after a McGrath’s failure to ap- trial, news outlets reported. documents. The warrant ed in 2021 on charges that
three-week manhunt had pear for trial surprised his The affidavit, which didn’t request indicates that in- he fraudulently secured the
made no plans to travel for attorney, Joseph Murtha, identify the agent, was un- vestigators wanted to seize severance payment, equal
his trial in Baltimore, accord- who said at the time he be- sealed Tuesday. McGrath’s electronics and to one year’s salary as the
ing to a newly-unsealed FBI lieved that McGrath, who McGrath had last checked records related to his travel head of Maryland Environ-
affidavit. Roy McGrath, a had moved to Naples, Flor- in with authorities two arrangements, financial re- mental Service, by falsely
one-time chief of staff for ida, was planning to fly to weeks earlier, and officials cords and any evidence telling the agency’s board
former Maryland Gov. Lar- Maryland the night before. last visited him at the Florida that McGrath tried to alter that the governor had ap-
ry Hogan, missed the first McGrath long had main- home in August. McGrath’s his appearance. proved it. Hogan denied
day of trial in federal court tained his innocence and wife said she thought her McGrath served as Ho- knowledge of the plan.
on March 13, triggering a was adamant about going husband would be flying gan’s chief of staff for just McGrath also was accused
manhunt that ended when to trial in hopes of clearing to Baltimore the morning of 11 weeks. He resigned in of fraud and embezzle-
McGrath was wounded his name, Murtha said. the trial, the affidavit states. August 2020 after it be- ment connected to rough-
in a shooting April 3 near But according to an affi- “Checks with airlines pro- came public that he had ly $170,000 in expenses.q