A building that collapsed last week in Washington, D.C., has left a worker paralyzed from the knees down, according to local reports.
The five-story building was under construction in northwest D.C. when it collapsed on July 1, leaving several people injured, including 27-year-old Leonardo Moreto Da Silva, who was trapped in the rubble for more than an hour.
Da Silva’s sister, Leidiane Guimaraes, told Fox 5 D.C. that her brother remains in the ICU. Doctors told their family that he is paralyzed from the knees down and will now have to use a wheelchair, she told the outlet.
Guimaraes set up a GoFundMe page to help Da Silva pay his medical expenses.
A spokesperson for DC Fire and EMS told Fox News last week that while they did not know the exact cause behind the collapse, a severe thunderstorm was passing through the area at the time the building went down.
“Two structures to the right suffered some damage secondary to the collapse and a vacant structure to the right suffered major damage,” the spokesperson said.
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Four other people, not including Da Silva, were immediately helped out of the collapsed building and transported to a local hospital when first responders got to the scene at about 3:30 p.m. Their injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
A video posted by DC Fire and EMS showed multiple firefighters using saws and other tools to try to dig through the rubble.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.