Married Father of Three Killed by Step That Fell off NYC Fire Escape

A 58-year-old man passed away on Saturday, the day after he was hit in the head by a step that broke off a fire escape on a New York City building.

Richard Marchhart of Garden City, Long Island was walking through the SoHo area of Manhattan by himself, according to DailyMail. He was on Broadway near Howard Street when a step from a fire escape on the building above him came crashing down on his head.

The piece of metal was reportedly 150 pounds, and it fell seven stories. It struck Marchhart and fractured his skull. Marchhart was married with three children– two sons in college, and a daughter in high school.

"He was a great man," his oldest son told the New York Daily News. "And a great father."

A former co-worker of Marchhart's, Naresh Ramsaran, also spoke to the outlet. He said that Marchhart loved nothing more than to talk about his family and what they were up to.

"His sons especially," he said. "He always talked about how they were doing in school."

Officials were baffled by the accident. The fire escape passed its last inspection in 2013 and no issues were reported with the structure. The step broke off during a routine inspection, which was initiated and paid for by the building's owner.

"It was a normal inspection," said Michael Gala Jr., FDNY Deputy Manhattan Borough Commander. "We had a woman up on the fire escape looking at the façade, and it appears that under her weight that step became dislodged."

The engineer on the fire escape also suffered some minor injuries, but refused medical treatment on the scene due to the severity of Marchhart's condition.

A 24-year-old art student named Nathalia Medllin was also hit in the head by the falling debris. The Queens-based artist is expected to survive after receiving treatment for minor lacerations.

"I was about 10 feet away, sitting in my van, and I just saw a guy hit the ground. Blood starting pouring from his head," said Matthew Kohere, a witness who spoke to the New York Post.

"At first I didn't know what it was. Honestly, I thought someone had shot him in the head, that's how bad it was. I mean, there's a lot of blood. He was out."