Help Eric Rebuild: Davenport Apartment Collapse

Hi, my name is Mike and my friend Eric Lehto who lived on the 4th floor just lost everything due to his apartment building collapsing in Davenport, IA. I set up this Gofundme for him to help get his life back to normal again.

Eric lost his home and all of his belongings in the Davenport Building Collapse. With all the horrible things you hear about the building in the media, we asked him why he lived there. When he first moved there, on the surface level it seemed okay. However, that quickly went downhill as the new owner changed property management and maintenance companies. It was dirty, had disgusting stained carpet, and the elevator and air conditioning always seemed to be broken. The cleaners rarely came in to clean the lobby areas. Recently due to broken building locks, homeless people started sleeping on the lobby couch or entering apartments being renovated. Last week there were signs posted in the lobby reminding people not to park in the spaces next to the side of the building as there was repair work taking place. That side of the building had been bulging outwards for some time. Little did he know what was about to happen.

Eric moved to Davenport to get a job with John Deere. He supplies operators, assemblers and welders with proper materials they need. He likes to bike across town on his mountain bike, snowboard, play Xbox and fish. All of which was lost with the collapse.

On Sunday, May 28th, Eric was going to take his bike out for a ride, but instead met up with friends for a drink at the bar down the street. Eric said, “You don’t hear this very often, but whisky probably saved my life!” 15 minutes after he left his apartment for that drink, the building collapsed. Eric ran over within minutes of the collapse and police were already there pushing residents away. Nobody was allowed in to get valuables, they were in the process of evacuating.

Eric’s Dad died from cancer less than a year ago. The Cubs jacket his Dad cherished, jewelry he had inherited from his Grandma, a vintage cork dartboard that he used to play on with his Grandpa, and photos from his childhood all soon to be buried under the rubble. The loss of irreplaceable items is what hurts him the most. He owns nothing beyond the literal shirt on his back. That shirt happens to be “The Brewmuda Triangle Shirt”. (a T-shirt he bought earlier in the year to support the local breweries.) He’s their walking billboard for the immediate future until his clothes are replaced.

Eric is grateful for his job and John Deere as its giving him stability during this time of chaos. He’s couch surfing and needs a permanent safe place to live where he can start to rebuild. The funds raised through Gofundme will help him rebuild and replace what was stolen from him. Anything helps and thank you for your donations!