Concrete Vendor Faces Questions After Garage Failures at Philadelphia and New Jersey Sites

Brayman Precast supplied materials to two parking structures that failed within weeks of each other. The company delivered precast concrete panels to a Philadelphia garage that collapsed and a New Jersey hospital garage that authorities shut down.

Inspectors closed the New Jersey structure on April 23. This came about two weeks after three ironworkers died in the April 8 Philadelphia collapse at a Children’s Hospital construction site in Grays Ferry. At the Community Medical Center facility in Toms River, two roof panels were sagging under their own weight, Drew Chabot said. He serves as acting business administrator for Toms River Township.

The 700-car garage had operated for just 14 months. Officials placed a bright orange sticker on the entrance. It read “This building is declared unsafe for human occupancy.”

“Exactly the same situation,” Chabot said, according to The Inquirer. Sagging panels in Toms River sat above a stairwell — the very spot where the Philadelphia collapse began.

Mark Scott Jr., Matthew Kane, and Stepan Shevchuk died when a precast concrete roof panel crashed onto a stairwell at the Philadelphia site. The impact triggered a chain reaction that tore through all seven floors. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration records show that both Brayman Precast and High Concrete Group worked on the Grays Ferry project.

Abieyuwa Aghayere teaches structural engineering at Drexel University. The professor said the similarities between the two garages could help investigators crack the case. “It’s worth really taking a closer look at,” Aghayere said. “It would point me in that direction: Check the materials that were used to make those roof panels.”

Lance Lorah works as a vice president with High Concrete Group. He said a subcontractor notified his Lancaster County-based company on April 20 of a “potential concern with the panels.” The concern originated with the subcontractor, Lorah explained. His company relayed information to the general contractor without delay.

Robert Mongeluzzi and Andrew Duffy represent the families of the workers killed. These lawyers said they are investigating whether defective panels were used in other projects. “Our investigation is laser-focused on the CHOP garage project’s safety culture as well as the structural integrity of the precast roof sections,” Mongeluzzi said in a statement.

OSHA, Philadelphia’s law department, and a City Council committee are investigating the collapse. Officials declined to comment on the progress of those investigations. The Community Medical Center garage remains closed. A hospital spokesperson said it should reopen later this month.

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