Man recovering from injuries in flood-damaged garage collapse

Victor Prinze is recovering from injuries he suffered Saturday when a flood-damaged garage he was helping demolish collapsed on him, a friend told KCRG-TV9.

Prinze, 60, of Modesto, Calif., was taken to St. Luke's Hospital after the garage at 1626 Eighth St. NW suddenly shifted and fell against the foundation of the adjacent house. Another volunteer worker, Sam Cooper, 24, of San Leandro, Calif., briefly trapped beneath the garage's roof but wasn't hurt.

LaVonne Smith said Prinze has been moved out of the intensive care unit at St. Luke's. Prinze wasn't listed as a patient at any area hospital Monday night.

Prinze was working with members of an AmeriCorps team from Vinton, but isn't an AmeriCorps member, said Angela Sarrels, spokeswoman for the National Civilian Community Corps, part of AmeriCorps. The demolition of the garage, owned by Michael and Angela Reinert, wasn't an NCCC project but Cooper and others were helping on their own time.

Sarrels said that if the demolition had been one organized by NCCC, the federal organization would have required members to prepare a safety report and investigate the incident.

In June, Prinze told The Gazette he arrived in Cedar Rapids within a month or two of the June 2008 flood. The former financial adviser said he arrived with $11, works for free, has no income, and subsists on donated food and gift cards

“I have no money. God takes care of it. Every day,” said Prinze, a father of seven.

Prinze said he worked with AmeriCorps volunteers almost every day, but didn't want to enlist in the agency because he wanted to reserve the right to speak about Jesus with his co-workers.