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3 Bodies Recovered in Iowa Building Collapse

Injured resident is suing city, building owners
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 5, 2023 1:53 PM CDT
3 Bodes Recovered in Iowa Building Collapse
This photo combo shows from left, Branden Colvin, Ryan Hitchcock, and Daniel Prien.   (Davenport Police Dept. via AP)

The bodies of three men have been removed from the site of a collapsed six-story apartment building, the police chief in Davenport, Iowa, announced Monday. "We don’t have any other information at this time that there are any additional people missing," Chief Jeff Bladel said. Branden Colvin Sr.’s body was recovered Saturday, the day his son graduated from high school. The body of Ryan Hitchcock was recovered Sunday and Daniel Prien early Monday. The discoveries came after authorities announced that the search for survivors had been completed, with attention turning to shoring up the remaining structure so recovery efforts could begin.

City officials had said earlier that Colvin, 42; Hitchcock, 51; and Prien, 60; had "high probability of being home at the time of the collapse." One of the residents injured in the collapse sued the city of Davenport and the building's current and former owners on Monday, alleging they knew of the deteriorating conditions and failed to warn residents of the risk, the AP reports. The complaint filed on behalf of Dayna Feuerbach alleges multiple counts of negligence and seeks unspecified damages. It also notes that additional lawsuits are likely.

"The city had warning after warning," attorney Jeffrey Goodman said in an interview with the AP. He called it a common trend in major structural collapses he’s seen. "They had the responsibility to make sure that the safety of the citizens comes first. It is very clear that the city of Davenport didn’t do that." Unresolved questions include why neither the owner nor city officials warned residents about potential danger. A structural engineer’s report issued days before the collapse indicated a wall of the century-old building was at imminent risk of crumbling. Documents released by the city show that city officials and the building’s owner had been warned for months that parts of the building were unstable. (More Iowa stories.)

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