Demolition workers accidentally tear down wrong house
‘We made a mistake and thought we had the right property’
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A demolition company has apologised after accidentally tearing down a house that had stood in a historic neighbourhood for almost a century.
JR’s Demolition had been hired to demolish a property in Dallas, Texas – but a blunder led to workers knocking down the wrong house.
The building reduced to rubble was a 1923 Craftsman house which had been inherited by Jeremy Wenninger after his friend Mary Ann Degataire died in 2018.
Mr Wenninger, who once lived in the area but is now located in Los Angeles, had just begun renovating the quaint pink house with co-owner Robb Hagestad.
But he got a call out of the blue on Wednesday to say a bulldozer was tearing the property down.
He wrote on Facebook: “I still can’t believe this is true. We did everything we could to save this home. Rest In Peace my dear friend Mary Ann.”
Mr Hagestad told the Dallas Morning News: “The fact that we’ve been struggling to save the property for the last two years, to see it disappear in 20 minutes is just really heartbreaking.”
Bobby Lindamood, the owner of JR’s Demolition, said it was the first time his company had demolished the wrong building.
He said in a statement: “We made a mistake and thought we had the right property.
“JR’s Demolition is a small family business who has been in the demolition business for 15 years.
“I, as the owner, have been in demolition over 35 years and after thousands of structure demolitions, this is the first incident wherein the wrong structure was demolished.”
Mr Lindamood said his company had demolished other properties in the same street as part of a redevelopment – and that Mr Wenninger’s house did not have a visible house number or street kerb address.
He added: “JR’s inspected this property ensuring that it was empty,” he said. “The house was stripped of all plumbing and electrical.
“It lacked a foundation without concrete, and the gas metre was gone. The rear door was boarded up and lacked a non-operational front door.”
The demolition company is now working to find a solution with Mr Wenninger.
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