KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan and photographer Al Miller met the investigator for an attorney representing Tammy Martin, who was injured in the collapse. James Stigall, an Attorney with SWL Injury Law has exclusively let Ryan and KSHB 41 tell his client's story. This story has been made possible by relationships built in the community. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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For the first time, we're getting a clearer picture of the rescue efforts during the July 2025, Family Dollar building collapse in Kansas City that killed one person and injured three others.
KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa and KSHB 41 Photographer Al Miller met an attorney's investigator at the scene in July.
A legal team represents Tammy Martin, one of three people injured in the collapse.
RELATED | 'Somehow I was spared': Family Dollar collapse survivor shares harrowing account
They've allowed Gamboa to exclusively share her story through police cruiser and body camera video KSHB 41 obtained through a Missouri Sunshine request.
This is the first time Martin and her attorney, James Stigall, with SWL Injury Law, have viewed the footage.
Stigall filed a civil suit for damages on Aug. 1 in Jackson County Circuit Court against three defendants: Family Dollar, Inc., Family Dollar Stores of Missouri, LLC, and the building owner, Arthur Fels Company.
Gamboa reached out to the attorneys representing the defendants for their participation in this story, but has not received a response.
"Chaos is the perfect word for it," Martin said after watching the video. "I am glad I don't remember none of it."
The video shows the moments immediately after the building collapsed, with bystanders screaming and debris scattered across the scene.
Emergency first responders arrived and began frantically working the incident. Under the debris pile was Martin, who was on her way to get cat food that Sunday.
She was crushed from the waist down, with multiple fractures in her right arm, including her collarbone, along with two amputated fingers and a completely crushed pelvis.
Stigall told KSHB 41 in October that doctors placed a rod in Martin's pelvis that ran hip to hip.
After 30 days in the hospital, Martin said she lost her home after the city condemned her apartment building.
"I ended up homeless and without anything," Martin said.
All she had were the clothes on her back and a different outlook on life because of her injuries.
The video also shows a man unconscious beneath the debris. The Kansas City Missouri Police Department later identified Larry Banks as the person who died in the collapse. Banks and his family have also filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Officers in the body camera video are heard saying, "He's gone."
The officers quickly got back to clearing the debris.
Martin remembers being near Banks when the building came down, telling KSHB 41 she made eye contact with him.
RELATED | 1 killed, 3 injured in partial building collapse at Midtown Family Dollar
"We were right across from each other, we could've both reached our hands out across," Martin said with a blank stare. "It's sad. I hope he passed quickly."
The exclusive footage reveals a massive steel beam that had to be removed by a construction crew with a boom truck, according to Stigall. Multiple Good Samaritans are seen rushing to help with the rescue in the chaotic scene.
"Yikes. I'm glad I don't remember it," Martin said when asked what crosses her mind when seeing the footage.
One woman is heard asking a police officer, "You think there's more people in there?"
That's what defined the chaos in the video, first responders working to help the injured and ensure the safety of the Good Samaritans.
Martin spent much of the time watching the video with subtle murmurs under her breath and sometimes in silence. At one point, she put her hands over her face.
"It just hurts that somebody's life got lost out of this," Martin said.
Martin receives hand therapy and could possibly receive eye therapy after losing her ability to maintain focus on objects. She says she doesn't move as fast and had to learn to depend on others.
"This is not something I signed up for. Not willingly," Martin said. "I look at life a little differently. It's day-by-day now."
Despite everything, Martin maintains a positive outlook.
"You can be upset, but what good would it do? That's just a waste of energy, being mad all day long," Martin said. "I don't know, God is good. Not everyday is going to be in paradise, but I'm still here. What else can you ask for."
It's why she's sharing her voice in her search for accountability with her attorney, James Stigall.
"Between my firm and Tammy, we're going to hold some people accountable," Stigall said.
Martin said she just hopes what she went through doesn't happen to anyone else.
"I don't wish this on anybody," Martin said. "Seeing people come together is pretty cool. That's Kansas City for ya," she said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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