Freak accident kills Westmoreland man
By ERIC FOSSELL - The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON - An elderly Westmoreland man died Monday evening in a "freak" accident that even baffled police.
Pedro Pastor Escobar-Gonzalez, 73, of 3024 Piedmont Road appeared to have been killed by a window that blew outward from an adjacent building, according to Huntington Police Detective Chris Sperry.
Gonzalez had been sitting outside on his second-floor apartment landing, where he had been reading a Bible, said Don Spence. Spence explained that Gonzalez was the father of his sister-in-law.
Spence described Gonzalez, a native of Colombia, South America, as a "very religious" and "very friendly" man who worked part time for J.C. Spence Co. in Huntington.
Scores of onlookers gathered at the scene - located just west of the intersection of Piedmont and Camden roads - as police cordoned off Gonzalez’s apartment building with crime-scene tape. There was no initial indication of foul play, according to Huntington Police Sgt. Dan Underwood.
"There’s a lot we don’t know," he said. "We’re still trying to sort it all out."
The incident was reported about 6:45 p.m., according to a Cabell County 911 dispatcher.
Sperry said he intended to contact meteorologists to determine if a high wind gust could have blown the window outward.
"The preliminary investigation shows that the window came out of its frame and dropped onto (Gonzalez)," Sperry said. "It looks like one of those freak things."