READING, Pa. — Outside the R/C Reading Movies 11 and IMAX on North 2nd Street, flashing lights filled the block Wednesday morning.
Police, firefighters and EMS crews rushed to the scene just after 11:30 a.m.
“Units were dispatched to 30 North 2nd Street for a report of an individual that had fallen approximately 50 feet from the ceiling,” said Chief Robert Leonard II with the Reading Fire Department.
Firefighters say they found an unconscious man, later identified as 71-year-old Robert R. Franklin of Celebration, Florida.
“Units immediately started to render emergency medical services. Unfortunately, the victim had succumbed to his injuries,” Leonard said.
Kevin Fitzsimmons | WFMZ-TV
Just across the street at Centro Hispano, people watched the response.
“As I was driving through the area, coming back and forth into the building, we could see all the trucks, we could see the police, we could see the fire trucks,” said Isaac McCrimmon.
But when they learned what happened, the reaction quickly changed.
“I was shocked, and to learn that someone had died, that was even more shocking. A very sad situation,” said Vidalia Santiago.
The company that owns the theater says Franklin was working above the ceiling when he slipped, and that his safety harness did not hold before he fell.
In a statement, CEO and President Scott R. Cohen confirmed the contractor died inside the IMAX auditorium.
“The circumstances that led to the accident are unknown and officials are working to determine the details. He was a well-respected and hard-working professional,” Cohen said.
The U.S. Department of Labor told 69 News that OSHA has opened an investigation into what happened. Officials say the process can take up to six months.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
The theater announced on their website that it will be closed on Wednesday and will reopen on Thursday.