Philadelphia Pier 34 collapse

Philadelphia Pier 34 collapse

The Philadelphia Pier 34 collapse occurred on May 18th, 2000 and caused the death of three women inside Club Heat (located on the end of the Pier) and injuries to dozens of people, as the 91-year-old structure fell into the Delaware River.[1]

The owner of the property, and the manager of the nightclub on the pier, were later criminally charged for failure to maintain and repair its foundation, even after several warning signs had appeared in the weeks before the collapse.

Contents

Location and history

Pier 34 is located on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware River, just south of Penn's Landing. It was originally built in the year 1909, and was used for loading coal onto ships. [2] Later, the property was eventually sold, and a nightclub, Club Heat, was built on the section furthest from shore. The club had only been open for a week before the disaster.

Emergency response

The collapse occurred around 8 PM while the nightclub was occupied, as a section of the pier (already showing signs of shifting), fell into the cold spring waters of the Delaware River. Strong river currents, lack of light, and a large amount of debris combined with additional threats of collapse from the sections of pier still standing hampered rescue efforts.[3]

The three women who died - Jean Marie Ferraro, 27, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Monica Kristina Rodriguez, 21, also of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and DeAnn White, 25, of Philadelphia - were coworkers at the Camden Aquarium out celebrating White's birthday. [4]

Criminal charges

Based on evidence that showed both men were aware that the pier was in danger of collapse and did little to prevent it, [5] the owner of Pier 34, Michael Asbell, and the Manager of Club Heat, Eli Karetny, were charged by the Philadelphia District Attourney's Office with 3rd degree murder and other charges, but during deliberations, the jury was unable to come to an unanimous decision.

Fearing facing another trial, they both pleaded guilty. They were sentenced to 9+ months of house arrest and 1,000 hours of community service.[6]

See also

  • List of structural failures and collapses

References

  1. ^ http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jun2000/phil-j01.shtml
  2. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2005/07/11/daily27.html
  3. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5367/is_200412/ai_n21362179/
  4. ^ http://whyy.org/cms/news/regional-news/2010/05/18/the-fatal-collapse-of-pier-34-10-years-later/38239
  5. ^ http://www.klinespecter.com/news_pier34_pi111501.html
  6. ^ http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=5411692

Coordinates: 39°56′43″N 75°08′28″W / 39.9452°N 75.14099°W / 39.9452; -75.14099


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