One person has died and two were injured after a building in the West Lawn neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side collapsed Saturday afternoon.
Police responded to a call about a roof collapse on the 4100 block of W. 63rd St. at abouit 12:45 p.m., according to a Chicago police spokesperson.
Roberto Topia-Gonzalez, 44, of the 2500 block of South Homan Avenue, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 1:41 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday.
Another worker, a 30-year-old man, was also taken in serious-to-critical condition to Christ Medical Center, while a third construction worker, a 44-year-old man, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in fair-to-serious condition, authorities said. A 41-year-old man denied medical treatment, police said.
The four construction workers were doing maintenance on the roof when the building collapsed, police said.
"I ran over here and I saw a guy laying on the ground, and he was covered with bricks," said 12-year-old Michael Bruen, who witnessed the collapse.
Mimi Simon, a spokeswoman with the city’s Department of Buildings, said the work at the site was being performed by unlicensed contractors without building permits.
“The building owner has been instructed to abate the dangerous and hazardous conditions, remove debris and erect a heavy duty canopy for public safety,” Simon said in a statement.
The building’s owner will be issued several violations upon the completion of a full inspection, Simon said.
The entire brick structure of the building crumbled down, according to Claudia Rodriguez, another witness. Rodriguez was working at a bakery nearby when she heard the commotion.
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"The whole thing from the top fell off," Rodriguez said. "When I went to go look ... it was one of the guys who was working and I saw his leg, it was all messed up. He was sitting by the sidewalk."
