The family of an Army war hero and father of four who was fatally knocked down in a crane accident in Manhattan two years ago has filed an unlawful death lawsuit over the incident, new court records show
Gregory Echevarria of Bushwick, Brooklyn, died on April 13, 2019 after a 7.5-ton counterweight fell from a crane while working in a luxury Soho apartment.
A lawsuit has now been filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court on behalf of the former wife of Echevarria and her three children, as well as his fiancé and her toddler, in which the owners, the contractors and the construction companies involved have acted negligently.
The defendants “had actual knowledge or knowledge of the dangerous and defective conditions … and failed to correct them in a timely and proper manner and to provide a safe place for them [Echevarria] to work, ”calculates the suit.
“As a result of the negligence, recklessness and negligence of the accused … [Echevarria] suffered severe and serious personal injury leading to his unjustified death, ”the court records claim.
The 34-year-old crane boom died instantly in the accident on the corner of Broome Street and Varick Street. A second worker was also injured and filed a lawsuit in 2019. This case is still pending.
Echevarria, who served on several missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, left behind a three-month-old son and three other children from his previous marriage.
The posh 25-story, 54-unit building in Hudson Square has now opened and currently has five units available for sale, each costing approximately between $ 3 million and $ 3.5 million.
Director Cary Fukunaga, who directed one of the James Bond films “No Time to Die” with Daniel Craig, bought a penthouse unit in the 570 Broome St. building.
Lawyers for Echevarria’s fiancé Sarah Ramirez and young son Garrison said the accident was preventable.
“This is a tragedy,” said attorney Gail Kelner of the Post by phone. “Sarah’s baby and the three other children no longer have a father.”
“I think it’s a terrible accident,” said Kelner. “Adequate safety measures could have prevented this, as is the case with so many construction accidents where these tragedies are so avoidable.”
“It is terrible with a super-luxury building like this that no proper procedures have been put in place to prevent this from happening,” Robert Kelner told The Post.
“Hopefully we can give them financial security, but we can’t give them back their father,” added Gail Kelner.
Echevarria’s direct employer, Crane Express, who has a history of OSHA violations and another death at work, is not named as a defendant in this case because laws prevent lawsuits against employers in New York, Gail Kelner said.
John Fabiani, attorney for one of the aforementioned construction companies, KSK Construction Corp., emailed The Post, “We do not comment on any litigation.”
The lawyers for Echevarria’s ex-wife and her three children did not immediately return a request for comment.
Builders Soho Broome Condos, LLC, property developer Agime Group, LLC, and contractor companies sued for unspecified damage did not immediately return a request for comment.
