David Araujo witnessed the rescue of a teenage boy from the rubble — the only victim so far to be pulled out alive and survive. Meanwhile, a dramatic dispatch call was released in which you can hear a trapped victim banging on debris.
When David Araujo was driving late at night, he thought he had driven into a patch of fog and started filming. But then came the horrifying realization that what was in the air was debris from the collapsing apartment building outside Miami.
Araujo spoke to Inside Edition about the gut-wrenching scenes he recorded right after disaster struck, including people trapped on their balconies, screaming for help. Then he came across the pile of rubble where 15-year-old Jonah Handler was buried alive.
“I could hear someone saying, ‘Help me, help me,’” Araujo said.
Rescuers sifted through the rubble and moved a mattress to try to reach the boy.
“The kid was saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’ so every second counted,” Araujo said.
Finally, the teenager was freed. To this day, he is the only victim to be pulled out alive and survive.
Meanwhile, a dramatic dispatch call was released in which you can hear a trapped woman, believed to be Live Nation executive Theresa Valasquez, banging on debris, according to friends who are mourning her loss.
She was visiting her parents who lived in a condo at the building. First responders spoke to her continuously but, tragically, they were not able to rescue her.
