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Philadelphia Mayor Gives Collapse Update; From Tragedy to Advocacy; Zimmerman Lawyers Fight to Ban Analysis; Student Shot in Head Walks Again

Aired June 06, 2013 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER (D), PHILADELPHIA: As you all well know, the first report about the incident at 2136 Market Street came in at 10:43 a.m. yesterday morning. Fire fighters and first responders were on the scene at 10:45 a.m. yesterday morning. We are now nearly 24 hours into this tragic event.

Search and rescue operations continued overnight. There was some family concerned that efforts had been suspended. That is not correct. And as you can see, work is actively going on behind us right now.

What will happen over the course of the next few hours is that a very large crane is being brought in. That will -- or is onsite now. It was onsite when I was briefed; 75 percent of the site has been searched, obviously, that means that 25 percent yet still remains, part of which is the actual structure that you see behind you with the drug store sign on it. There is also a wall to the south of the building that needs to be taken down. Fire fighters and search and rescue folks are very concerned about that particular wall.

That work will extend probably easily into the afternoon. In the meantime, the perimeter has further been reduced. It is now from 21st street to 23rd street, from Market to Arch and 22nd Street is still closed from Chestnut to Arch. All other streets have been released and are opened.

With regard to the victims, as I said to many of you who were here last night about 11:00 p.m., we have asked that we have some amount of, call it humanity time through the course of at least this day, we still have families that are trying to notify other family members and I would just ask in your, all of us, away from our regular daytime jobs in the sense of respect and humanity for those families, we would like to try to prevent family members from learning the fate of one of their loved ones from news media as opposed to another family member.

We plan to -- we do plan to release the names of the victims pretty much at the close of business today. We have not yet figured out if we are having another full briefing, although we very well may. And if we do, we'll release those names towards the tail end of the today. But I would just ask if you can hold on for a little while to try not to, I mean whatever is out there is already out there. I understand that. But if you can hold off for the rest of the day, we'll give you that information and then you'll have it, but I know for a fact that some of the families have not been able to contact all of their members.

With regard to a question that came up yesterday involving inspections and what happens in a demolition situation, the basics, having nothing specifically to do with this particular demolition is that an entity, a company applies for a permit. The permit is issued. And one inspection is required prior to the start of the work. And that's a standard process and procedure.

In this particular incident, a couple of things, one, we received a citizen complaint in early May about the property located at 2134 Market Street. The property in question, the building that fell, the wall of the building that fell yesterday is at 2136 Market Street.

A few days later, an L&I inspector went to the property that had been complained about, which was 2134 Market Street, found that there were no violations at that time. The property 2136 commonly known as the Hoagie City building, that demolition had not yet started. That building was fully intact. The sign was in place and was no work had been done yet on that particular building.

So the building was fully -- fully intact and the structure there at that time. That is all the information that I have about that, that particular situation but there is one inspection required between the time of issuance and the start of the demolition activity. Those are the facts on that.

I'm going to ask Commissioner Ayers to give you a little bit of information about a little more detail about what will take place today in terms of personnel and apparatus. And then I think pretty much after he has completed, I'll be glad to try to answer any questions that you might have. Mr. Ayers.

LLOYD AYERS, PHILADELPHIA FIRE COMMISSIONER: Currently, the operation that's going on right now is the making safe the search area. We have an area that we will continue to search approximately 20 percent of the entire area left in the rear, where behind me, you can see the wall is being taken down. There's a small area inside the store that has a, inside the thrift shop area that's still standing, that will be searched as well, a very small percentage. We want to go in there.

We've already planned overnight for the next 12-hour period, which it should extend us into the afternoon, hopefully, we'll be done at that point. But if not, we'll -- we'll continue to let you know a little later in the day.

But outside of that, as you know, last night, we stayed the course. Our members did pull out one female alive and that's why we stayed the course. That's what this rescue effort is all about. And in all of the despair with the people who were deceased, that person being pulled out alive is what every rescue is all about and what a technical rescue is all about. Some place there is an opportunity for a void and we keep that same spirit and faith moving forward right now as we move into this afternoon period.

So we still have approximately 42 of our members on scene right now. We have our technical rescue contingency still on scene. As soon as they're finished, they're going to be right back on those areas taking care of that. So --

(END LIVE FEED)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So, three or four big takeaways from this press conference with Mayor Nutter who you see there has stepped back up to the mike. First of all, they are still in search and rescue mode. So even 24 hours later, they are still optimistic that if anybody is trapped, they are going to be able to get to them. So they have been working and will continue do so.

Number two, there's a wall to the south of this building that still needs to be torn down. And they are concerned about that. So clearly, they have some -- some concerns about whether that may fall again or may fall for the first time and what they might do, so they're watching specifically that side that south side of the building.

Thirdly, there are still families who need to be notified of the six victims who died. So they are holding on to that information and those identities until the end of today. They believe that by the end of today, they will be able to release the names of those people who -- who perished.

And lastly, they were talking about an inspection that happened in a building right next door back in May and at that point, the mayor says they did -- that there was a complaint, they had an inspector go in and everything was fine back in May. And the building right next to this building that collapsed. And that the demolition at that point had not started. So it makes you wonder perhaps they believe this cause of this building collapse may be something that happened with the demolition, itself.

But again, those are the takeaways. So we're going to continue watch what's happening in Philly. And we'll be back with you in just a moment. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: New this morning, Chrysler says guess what it's going to recall some Jeep Patriot and Compasses because of problems apparently with the airbags and the seatbelts. Here's the kicker, those are not the Cherokees and the Liberties that the government says carries a potential fire risk. And it's that fire risk that has Jeep drivers pretty worried for their safety at this point.

I want to introduce you to Jenelle Embrey. She doesn't drive a Jeep. She never owned one but she knows all too well the tragedy that can come from one of these fires that -- you are seeing the picture of right here. She witnessed this Jeep fire after a highway accident and since then has devoted herself to advocacy in launching an online petition asking for Chrysler to recall the Jeep.

And Jenelle is joining us now. Thank you, Jenelle, for taking time to be with us. Can you, first of all, just so we know, give us a sense of what happened the night of that accident? JENELLE EMBREY, STARTED ONLINE PETITION AGAINST DANGEROUS JEEPS: Sure. My dad and I had decided to go out for a drive on this lovely perfect weather fall evening of the 3-day holiday weekend. And we, he lives relatively close to a highway ramp, so we went right up to the ramp, got on 81, was going to go one exit and come home.

And we found ourselves in the back of a traffic jam and as we stopped our vehicle, then we felt like the world had exploded. Something awful was happening. We were spinning. There was crashing. There was glass flying. We thought we were going to die and as that ended and we crawled out of our vehicles after the most horrific experience of our entire lives, we noticed that there was also a Jeep that had been behind us and a tractor-trailer had hit us and we saw a small fire at the back of that vehicle which quickly grew at which point we saw the people struggling.

My father ran to assist them. I was frozen in tears standing there crying. I really wasn't much use at the accident, because I knew that somebody was going to burn to death right in front of us. It was just unbelievable that my dad actually broke a window out with his bare hands and pulled the first person in his reach out, which was a teenage boy.

Unfortunately, he was just in time for him to observe his mother and his best friend, a college roommate, I'm sorry, a college mate, I don't know if they were roommates burn to death in front of all of us.

PAUL: Ok. So my goodness, how is your dad doing? How are you doing after seeing that?

EMBREY: You know compared to the other folks and their families, we feel like we are doing fantastic.

PAUL: Well, you are also, I know, doing a lot to try to make change happen. After you witnessed this we're wondering, what is your reaction today to the news that Chrysler is refusing this recall that you're fighting for?

EMBREY: Well, I am fighting back tears, because when I initially heard it, I thought maybe they had finally done the right thing and, you know, although I was waiting confirmation, I was really starting to get excited and happy that the line of destiny that folks are standing in, their destiny to die in a Jeep fire was going to be closed down.

But, unfortunately, they, you know, recalled minor things. They recalled things that aren't controversial. They won't cost a lot of money. If something costs a lot of money, it seems that people burning to death are ok with Chrysler. That's ok with them.

PAUL: Have you heard from them at all? I mean, you have taken such steps online to get the word out here. Have you gotten any response from the government or from Chrysler?

EMBREY: I am in touch with David Strickland's office at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And we are going to meet very soon. It will be this month. They are dealing with their own piece of this defiance by Chrysler and they, Chrysler has a few more days to put up, to officially respond is what I'm trying to say. We're just still hopeful that they're going to do the right thing.

PAUL: It almost made you speechless there, didn't it? What was it that you were thinking about that you just couldn't get out there? Is it the fact that you haven't heard from Chrysler, that they haven't made a move yet?

EMBREY: Well, unfortunately, we have heard and every, every public statement and every, you know, every response that they give has been complete defiance. It has been lies. I don't hesitate to say that they are lying to the public with their one in a million years usage information. They are playing with calculations and, I'm sorry, I'm not a physicist or a statistician. But I have had it explained to me by a couple of those folks and there are a different ways that you can do these calculations to come up with the numbers if you want to come up with a certain number. They're playing with those numbers to make themselves look favorable to the public.

PAUL: Ok. Just so everybody know, and we have not spoken to Chrysler and heard how they calculate those numbers -- just in all fairness. But I know that, you know, you are on such a mission. You actually paid for an ad, a big billboard, is that right, in your area?

This is it. We're showing it on the screen right now. I'm wondering, what was your intent with that ad, was it to make people aware? Was it to get Jeep to do something? Were there dual intents?

EMBREY: Dual intent, definitely. Of course, I figured at the very least I would at least make people in my own area aware of this horrible, horrible danger. And at the most I was hoping that this would help people find my petition and get enough signatures at change.org to make something happen and after NHTSA has received, they've received 125,000 e-mails from concerned citizens using the platform to have change.org and I think that had to have had an impact on their decision to finally make a conclusion in this investigation.

PAUL: Well, Jenelle, we appreciate you sharing your story with us. We are so sorry for what you and your father went through and that family, but we're so grateful that you took some time to tell us your story. And thank you very much. Bravo for you.

EMBREY: Thank you so much.

PAUL: Now, I do want to let you know, earlier, Chrysler did respond to this issue again as we said. The company says, quote "The 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets and exceeds all applicable federal safety standards", unquote.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: We want to show you some live pictures right now from a Florida courtroom. That is the judge presiding over the George Zimmerman case. His lawyers are fighting for sanctions against the prosecution. The defense says they weren't given all the evidence. So that's part of what's happening in today's hearing.

This is one of the final times that the attorneys are going to be in court before, of course, jury selection. That begins on Monday.

Martin Savidge is outside the courtroom there in Sanford. I know that they just took a break and had just restarted the session here. But I understand there have been some heated exchanges already this morning, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There have, indeed. As you point out, there is these two days -- and it could be two days of full hearings that take place here -- is the last chance for the attorneys and the prosecution to sort of lay down the basic foundations, the rules.

One of the things they are debating right now is pretty serious. And that is the allegation that is being made by the defense that the prosecution in this case has not handed over all the evidence that it has against George Zimmerman or all the evidence that it has collected.

Specifically, Mark O'Mara is saying that there is photographs and that there were text messages on Trayvon Martin's cell phone that were not handed over to the defense and under the rules of prosecution or sorry under the rules of discovery the prosecution must hand over everything.

The allegations are actually initially being made by an attorney Wesley White. He represents a gentleman who had access, apparently, as part of the official investigation to Trayvon Martin's cell phone. It is the attorney who is saying that his client implies that there were these photographs and these delete messages that apparently were not given over to the defense.

If that's true, that would be an extremely serious matter and what the defense is asking for is sanctions against the prosecutor, Bernie de la Rionda.

We are waiting to hear how this comes out. But it was a very contentious cross examination between Bernie de la Rionda and the attorney White.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY WHITE, ATTORNEY: It's like asking -- let me put it this way, sir, if you've been engaged in misconduct, I think I would be the last person you would disclose that to. If I could do it through a simple phone call with Mr. O'Mara and he could say, yes, we got those photographs, we wouldn't be here. This wouldn't be an issue at all. But if I contacted you, I could not -- if you had purposely misled this court, I don't expect that I would have gotten a straightforward answer from you. So that's why I didn't contact you.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAVIDGE: Now, you know, I get a little down in the weeds here as to what is going on, but that attorney, Mr. White, has a history with the prosecutor. He has a history with the prosecutor's office. And in part, that's what de la Rionda is saying -- it's that the reason you are bringing this information out is simply make us to look bad, White says no.

PAUL: All right. Boy, Martin Savidge, thank you for letting us know what's happening there. Boy, we're in the 11th hour here. So we'll see what the judge decides.

Also, I want to tell you about this man, after being shot in the head, people thought he'd never walk again. But this senior class president, he's not only defying the odds, he is taking center field.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: You have to meet this high school student in Detroit. He seems to be defying all the odds. After being was shot in the head, no one thought he'd even walk again. Well, he did at his high school graduation and he's doing a lot more too. CNN's Christine Romans is following this from New York. Christine -- good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi, graduation, always a celebration, took on an even greater importance for Balaal Hollings. The star athlete and honor student from Detroit was shot in the head not long ago. This week, he stunned his classmates by making it to graduation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: It's hard to believe that just two months ago this Michigan teenager couldn't walk, talk or even stand. In April Balaal Hollings was shot in the head while trying to break up a fight at a party. At Northwestern High School, Hollings was an honor student, football star, student council president and senior class president.

Balaal was excelling until the bullet that struck him in the head threatened to take everything away. Instead of finishing out his senior year, Balaal spent weeks in the hospital fighting for his life. Miraculously, he walked on stage at graduation ceremony surprising his classmates.

BALAAL HOLLINGS, SHOT IN THE HEAD: First of all, I want to thank god, it is so good to be alive.

I got (inaudible) and I have fully rehabilitated.

ROMANS: Now, fully rehabilitated is working on his pitching arm. Last night, he was invited to throw out the first ceremonial pitch at Comerica Park in a stadium full of Detroit Tigers fans.

HOLLINGS: I want to show that I got shot in the head, but I'm still myself. I hope that people just get inspired by my story and just know that you can make it through anything if you just have faith in god. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Even though Hollings missed the last few months of school, he had enough credits to graduate. But he wasn't expected to be well enough to walk at graduation. But Christi, this determined student wasn't going to let anything, even a shooting keep him from missing his high school graduation -- Christi.

PAUL: Love it. Take that inspiration with you today.

Thank you so much for spending some time with us. Go make some great memories.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.