Excavator operator to plead in fatal Philly building collapse
Sean Benschop, center, with red jacket over his head, walks with investigators to the Philadelphia Police Department's Central Detectives Division in 2013.Benschop's attorney says he will plead guilty Tuesday to charges including involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe. (AP file photo)
The attorney for an excavator operator charged in the Philadelphia building collapse that killed six people two years ago said his client plans to plead guilty Tuesday to charges including involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe.
Defense attorney Bill Davis told the Philadelphia Daily News that 43-year-old Sean Benschop wants to take responsibility for his actions. Benschop “cries and prays almost every night” for the victims and their families, Davis said.
Benschop was charged with third-degree murder after a wall of a building being demolished collapsed onto a thrift store, killing six people and injuring 13 others, one of whom has since died.
Davis said prosecutors have agreed not to ask for more than 10 to 20 years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Selber declined comment.——
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