Two men critically injured in West Philly balcony collapse

It wasn’t immediately known why the men were on the landing or why the fire escape collapsed.

WHYY staff

June 25, 2019

Caution tape surrounds an area at a building where a third-floor balcony collapsed, critically injuring two men. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

This article originally appeared on PlanPhilly.

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Two men were critically injured Tuesday in the collapse of a third-floor fire escape landing in West Philadelphia, police said.

It wasn’t immediately known why the men were on the landing or why the fire escape collapsed.

The collapse occurred shortly after 10 a.m. in the rear of a building on the 4200 block of Chester Avenue, police said.

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A 36-year-old man who suffered head trauma and a 31-year-old man who suffered trauma to the left side of his body were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Police said the older man was in extremely critical condition and the other was in critical condition.

An investigation is underway.

The building, known as The Lexington, is owned in record by 4207 Chester LLC and managed by the Altman Management Company. City records do not show any recent building code violations.

Correction: A police spokesperson earlier misidentified the affected building as 4205 Chester Avenue.

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