Crews demolish partially collapsed KC church (VIDEO)
Roommates James Beckner and Joseph Criswell on Friday sat in the same parking lot where more than 40 kids sought refuge earlier this month after the northeast Kansas City church they were in partially collapsed.
Beckner and Criswell, who live in the neighborhood, watched as heavy construction equipment tore down the building at 3200 Independence Avenue that housed the Rios de Agua Viva church.
“I wished it never would’ve caved in,” Beckner said. “It was a nice little building.”
Demolition began Thursday and the two roommates were planning to spend the day Friday watching the building come down.
“We thought maybe they could save the front, but they couldn’t save it,” Criswell said.
More than 60 people were inside the three-story brick church when the building started to shake mid-morning on Aug. 7.
About 44 children were attending a three-day vacation Bible school when a large section of the back wall crumbled.
The children and staff evacuated safely from the building. No one was injured in the collapse.
Beckner and Criswell had been drinking coffee when TV stations broke in with breaking news of the collapse. They rushed down to see what happened.
“We’ve been watching it ever since,” Criswell said. “It’s just been something to do.”
Church officials and a spokesman for the demolition company could not be reached for comment Friday.
This story was originally published September 1, 2014 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Crews demolish partially collapsed KC church (VIDEO)."