NYC crane collapse
NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - A pedestrian killed by a collapsing crane was eulogized Sunday as a man of kindness and generosity as the final remnants of the crumpled steel were removed from the Manhattan street where they fell.
David Wichs, 38, has been described by relatives as a mathematical whiz who graduated from Harvard University and worked at a computerized-trading firm.
His good deeds also made him "an angel," said Haskel Lookstein, rabbi emeritus of the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, where the funeral was held.
"We honor a very unique man whose life was a life of giving: giving from his possessions to causes he believed in passionately," Lookstein said.
The recipients included the Yeshiva of Flatbush, which had welcomed Wichs as a 14-year-old from Prague who barely spoke English and knew no Hebrew. "He never forgot it, and he gave back generously," the rabbi said.
"He gave an unusually large part of his income, but he gave of his person to everybody sitting here," Lookstein said. "He was a supreme mensch in every respect."
Wichs' widow, Rebecca Guttman, called her pain "unbearable."
"I want you to know that I will do my best to live for us both," Guttman told her fellow mourners.
Wichs' remains were taken for burial at Passaic Junction Cemetery in Saddle Brook, New Jersey.
Three other people were struck by debris and injured in the accident Friday.
City officials say it could take weeks to determine why the crane collapsed while it was being lowered during strong winds.
Work crews sliced the 565-foot-long mangled crane into dozens of pieces, then used other cranes to load the pieces onto flatbed trucks. Other workers have been concentrating on crushed water pipes and street repairs.
The following streets are closed due to the accident:
West Broadway is closed south of canal street and closed up to Worth street
Worth street eastbound is closed between West Broadway and Church street
Church street is closed btwn Worth and 6th avenue
Greenwhich street is closed southbound at liberty street up to battery place
The Associated Press contributed to this report