The man who operated a backhoe at the site of Wednesday's deadly building collapse in downtown Philadelphia has surrendered to police.
The Center City collapse buried nearly two dozen people under brick, cement and wood, killing six people and injuring and 13 others, including one woman who was buried for 13 hours under rubble before being rescued.
Sean Benschop, 43, surrendered to authorities Saturday afternoon, accompanied by his attorney, Daine Grey, Jr., and family members. Benschop was wearing a red jacket over his head and had a cast on his right arm. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} He had been with his family as police were searching for him, according to his attorney.
“He and his family are extremely sympathetic and remorseful with respect to what happened," said Grey. "This was an accident. Mr. Benschop is not responsible and we believe that in time the facts will show that he is not responsible and the responsible party will be held accountable."
An arrest warrant was issued for Benschop late Friday night. He is charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter as well as 13 counts of recklessly endangering another person, causing a catastrophe and risking a catastrophe.
Sources tell NBC10 in Philadelphia that Benschop had marijuana and prescription painkillers in his blood two hours after the outer wall of 2136 Market Street tumbled down onto the Salvation Army Thrift Shop Wednesday morning.
"Just like you could find me, you could find my lawyer. I have an attorney and you could talk to the attorney," said Benschop. "I don't have anything to say to you."
When asked whether he was on drugs when the collapse happened Wednesday, Benschop hung up the phone.
Philadelphia Police detectives raided Benschop's home along the 4900 block of North 7th Street in the Olney section of Philadelphia around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Detectives removed boxes filled with documents and a yellow safety vest, notebook and desktop computers and a hard drive from the home.
Neighbors said that investigators asked them if they had seen Benschop. Neighbors replied they hadn't seen him in some time.
Neighbors said Benschop would regularly drive the backhoe from his home in Olney to work sites around the city.
Sources say Benschop was taken to a nearby hospital after the four-story building came down to take a blood and urine test. Those tests were expedited for quick results.
Benschop is a convicted felon and lists himself as self-employed, sources say.
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Benschop was operating the backhoe for demolition contractor Griffin Campbell Construction. Construction company owner Griffin Campbell had a valid contractor license, issued this January, but owed thousands of dollars in unpaid city, state and federal business taxes. City officials stopped work at two other Griffin Campbell sites in the city's Midtown Village section on Thursday.
Campbell, 49, also has a criminal history — having pleaded guilty to theft and insurance fraud charges in 2009.
Dan Gillis, a construction worker, who witnessed Wednesday's collapse, claimed there was no lateral bracing to support the wall of the building as the demolition took place.
"We were working across the street," said Gillis. "The guy on the crane, you could see him grab a piece of steel pulling on it. The wall had no bracing, no blocking, nothing. It was just kind of 30 to 40 feet in the air. They started pulling on the steel and the wall was swaying back and forth. Eventually it just went over."
A lawsuit has already been filed on behalf of two of the victims.
Crews had been working to clear the collapse site since Wednesday, but work was halted Saturday as attorneys involved in the suit were allowed to inspect the site and remove evidence.
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
