Demolition contractor and excavator operator are sentenced to prison in building collapse
A demolition contractor and excavator operator were sentenced to prison on Friday in cases stemming from a 2013 building collapse in Philadelphia that killed six people and injured 13 others.
The building contractor, Griffin Campbell, was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison, below the 25 to 50 years requested by prosecutors, report Philadelphia Daily News, the Associated Press and Reuters. A press release from the district attorney of Philadelphia is here. Campbell was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in October.
The excavator operator, Sean Benschop, was sentenced to 7½ to 15 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter last year and testified in Campbell’s trial.
Prosecutors had claimed Campbell had taken shortcuts during the building demolition, leading to the collapse of a brick wall into the neighboring Salvation Army thrift store.
