January 15, 2015
Al B. For/for PhillyVoice
A woman fell eight stories Thursday night from an apartment at 1530 Chestnut Street.
A woman fell about eight stories from a Center City apartment building and landed on a pedestrian shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday.
Rebecca Kim, a Temple University student, died at the hospital from her injuries, reported NBC Philadelphia.
Alfred For, who was walking west on Chestnut Street and arrived on the scene shortly after the fall, said there was a "lot of blood."
The woman fell to the sidewalk in front of the H&M store at 1530 Chestnut St.
“In front of H&M, there were a couple of people on the ground trying to save this woman,” For said, who took photos and video at the scene. “At first it looked like both of them were dead. They were doing CPR on one of the women.”
The 18-year-old college freshman was visiting friends at an apartment building when she fell, NBC Philadelphia reports. She was rushed to Jefferson University Hospital, where she died.
Temple University issued a statement regarding Kim's death:
Temple University is deeply saddened to learn of the death of one of our students in Center City Philadelphia. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends. Counseling for Temple students is available at Tuttleman Counseling Services. For more information, visit http://www.temple.edu/studentaffairs/counseling/.
The pedestrian she landed on, a 44-year-old woman, was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital with neck and back injuries.
6ABC is reporting that the student was leaning out of a window, taking photos, when she fell.
The 1530 Apartments building is a nine-story building with 45 apartments, with an H&M store at street level. Finished in 1902 and designed in Georgian Revival style, the building was originally known as the Perry Building, and later changed to the Bailey Banks and Biddle Building. It is classified as an official historic site by the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. The structure has several architectural exterior flourishes, including smooth limestone, granite pilasters and decorative terra cotta accents.
This is a developing story, check back for details.
