Construction Worker Plummets To His Death By Commentator Staff

On Wednesday August 18, a construction worker plummeted eighteen stories off the roof of Belfer Hall to his death after a scaffolding collapsed. The worker, thirty-three year old Marek Soltys, frequently appeared on the Main Campus participating in many campus construction projects. Working atop Belfer Hall, construction workers from Jerrick Waterproofing were conducting a routine roof inspection and replacing loose bricks at the time of the accident.

Soltys, who was not wearing a safety harness at the time of the accident, was an experienced construction worker familiar with the tall building. After the catastrophic fall, Mr. Soltys landed at the feet of fellow construction worker Leonardo Galvan, 25, who was jack hammering the concrete patio in front of Tenzer Gardens where a jagged-edged statue stood just days before. Said Galvan of what he saw, "When he fell, he fell right by me and there was blood everywhere."

Pinchas Mikhli, YC MYP '00, Head RA of Rubin Hall, commented, "When I was about forty feet from the body, which at that time was covered with a yellow sheet, the wind blew the sheet up and I saw the mangled body. It was truly a horrific site - one that I would hope to never again see."

Former YCSC President Sruli Tannenbaum, YC '99, knew Mr. Soltys from his work on campus. "He was on of those guys who was really nice and helpful. He put himself out for the students when we needed him." On one occasion, when the Yeshiva College Dramatic Society needed stage work done in the Schottenstein Theater for the production of "I Hate Hamlet," Mr. Soltys personally assisted in the construction and hanging of new scaffolding for the play.

A dedicated worker and genuinely kind person, Mr. Soltys is survived by a wife and young daughter. The entire Yeshiva Community extends its heartfelt condolences to the Soltys family on the tragic loss Marek. May the Almighty comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.