Demolition begins at abandoned building where Whitmer student fell to his death

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The contractor for the Lucas County Land Bank is set to demolish an abandoned building Friday where a teenage boy fell to his death in 2016.

According to the Lucas County Lank Bank, Contractor Klumm Bros will demolish the former Rosemary Apartments around 9:00 a.m. The apartment building at Phillips and Detroit is the site where 16-year-old Whitmer High School student Joshua Sorrell fell to his death while he and a group of friends were exploring the abandoned building in 2016. Police said he took a wrong step and fell down an elevator shaft.

Sorrell’s family was invited to give the signal to start the wrecking work Friday.

According to David Mann, President and CEO of the Lucas County Land Bank, the project will take several months and cost about $350,000 of funding provided by the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Grant.

The demolition site is dangerous and trespassers will be prosecuted, Mann said in a statement.

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