4-story drop changed Berrys’ lives

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Lexus and Quanishia “Peach” Berry lost their home in the Davenport building collapse. Wednesday, Lexus was joined by Chicago-based attorneys at the site of The Davenport building collapse to announce new lawsuits against owner Andrew Wold and the city of Davenport.

“Look, look at the red dress in that building,” attorney Andrew Stroth said while pointing behind him past the fences and tarps, at the rubble. “That’s Lexus’s apartment. That’s Peach’s apartment. In a moment their life changed.”

Peach, couldn’t be there.

She’s is the woman saved by surgeons, who had to amputate her leg to free her from the rubble. She just came out of a coma at Genesis.

The Berrys were getting ready for Sunday dinner when it happened.

“Within the hour of us having those groceries delivered, putting them away, spending time with our two cats. Our whole world just shifted and in a matter of seconds, literally seconds, I blinked and everything was different,” Lexus said.

They fell four stories into a pile of debris.

Stroth said Peach was trapped inside from about 5 p.m. until 12:45 a.m.

“Both legs pinned, water, gas, concrete, complete chaos while first responders struggled to save her life,” Stroth said. “Lexus with a hard hat on and, with others around her, took Lexus into the building to go see Peach. At that moment, they didn’t know if Peach was gonna live.”

Today, a breeze sometimes blows through what’s left of their apartment. Their clothing still hangs in a closet you can see from the street.

The Berrys’ lawsuit says Wold, the building owner, literally covered up serious structural problems at The Davenport with patches – and that the city knew the building was in trouble but failed to alert residents to the jeopardy.

Lexus says her lawsuit aims to answer the how and why of the collapse – and to see that those responsible pay for the failures.

“To me, justice is everyone that is involved, every single person that is involved in that knew about the situation that was aware of it is held accountable,” she said.

This is the third lawsuit filed concerning the collapse of 324 Main St.

Attorneys for the Berrys filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Scott County District Court.

Named in the 80-page lawsuit are: