Tragedy struck at the site of a controversial church demolition project in Schuylkill County.
Authorities said a worker is dead after falling more than 50 feet. That worker has been identified as John Martz, 52, from Oneida in Schuylkill County. Oneida was part of a crew working to dismantle St. George's Church in Shenandoah when he fell to his death as co-workers and neighbors could only watch.
The deputy coroner in Schuylkill County estimates Martz fell 55 to 60 feet when he and a co-worker were sent to shore up a portion of the church's tower that had dislodged.
Bruce Popalis is a parishioner at St. George's who's been watching the dismantling everyday. He said he saw the whole thing happen.
"We saw a shower of granite. We saw that one guy hanging, and we knew the other man had to be on the ground," said Popalis.
Charles Vascavage said he actually got to know the victim from talking to him at the site everyday. "Very nice guy, very nice guy, good sense of humor. We never bothered them, they never bothered us."
St. George's is the church the Diocese of Allentown ordered to be dismantled in 2009, after deeming the 137-year-old building to be unsafe, despite pleas and an eventual court challenge from parishioners.
A judge eventually cleared the way for the church to come down and crews have been working here for months.
"They wanted to demolish this church and now they have blood on their hands! I feel for the man's family. I will pray for him every day," said Vascavage.
The Diocese of Allentown put out this statement about the accident:
"This is a terrible tragedy. Our prayers go out to the family of the man who was killed and to his co-workers. We also pray for the speedy and complete recovery of the man who was injured."
Officials have not released the name of the man who was hurt or his condition.
Federal safety investigators were on scene Monday. There is no word when crews will be cleared to go back to work.
An autopsy on John Martz is scheduled for later this week.
Authorities said a worker is dead after falling more than 50 feet. That worker has been identified as John Martz, 52, from Oneida in Schuylkill County. Oneida was part of a crew working to dismantle St. George's Church in Shenandoah when he fell to his death as co-workers and neighbors could only watch.
The deputy coroner in Schuylkill County estimates Martz fell 55 to 60 feet when he and a co-worker were sent to shore up a portion of the church's tower that had dislodged.
Bruce Popalis is a parishioner at St. George's who's been watching the dismantling everyday. He said he saw the whole thing happen.
"We saw a shower of granite. We saw that one guy hanging, and we knew the other man had to be on the ground," said Popalis.
Charles Vascavage said he actually got to know the victim from talking to him at the site everyday. "Very nice guy, very nice guy, good sense of humor. We never bothered them, they never bothered us."
St. George's is the church the Diocese of Allentown ordered to be dismantled in 2009, after deeming the 137-year-old building to be unsafe, despite pleas and an eventual court challenge from parishioners.
A judge eventually cleared the way for the church to come down and crews have been working here for months.
"They wanted to demolish this church and now they have blood on their hands! I feel for the man's family. I will pray for him every day," said Vascavage.
The Diocese of Allentown put out this statement about the accident:
"This is a terrible tragedy. Our prayers go out to the family of the man who was killed and to his co-workers. We also pray for the speedy and complete recovery of the man who was injured."
Officials have not released the name of the man who was hurt or his condition.
Federal safety investigators were on scene Monday. There is no word when crews will be cleared to go back to work.
An autopsy on John Martz is scheduled for later this week.
