Kevin Michael Cosgrove (January 6, 1955 – September 11, 2001) was an American insurance senior business executive and victim of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

on the World Trade Center. He served as a

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

Aon Corporation Aon PLC () is a British-American multinational financial services firm that sells a range of risk-mitigation products, including Commercial Risk, Investment, Wealth and Reinsurance solutions, as well as boutique strategy consulting through Aon ...

. Cosgrove is known for the

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency n ...

call he made during his final moments, which ended with him screaming from inside the South Tower as it collapsed. The recording was used during the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only criminal trial to result from the attacks. Cosgrove's last words made international headlines.

Personal life

Cosgrove and his family lived in

West Islip, New York West Islip is a hamlet and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

September 11 attacks

Cosgrove was a vice president of claims for

and a fire warden for the company. According to the 911 recording played during the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, Cosgrove was located in the northwest corner of the 105th floor in the South Tower, overlooking the

World Financial Center World Financial Center may refer to: China * Chongqing World Financial Center * Shanghai World Financial Center * Tianjin World Financial Center United States * Brookfield Place (New York City), formerly the World Financial Center complex ** 2 ...

when he called 911 at 9:54 am. In the recording, Cosgrove tells 911 dispatchers that he is calling from John Ostaru's office and that he has two other individuals with him. One he mentions by name: Doug Cherry. Cosgrove tells the operator: "My wife thinks I'm all right; I called and said I was leaving the building and that I was fine, and then ''bang!''" A 911 operator later calls him; he answers: "Hello. We're looking in ..we're overlooking the Financial Center. Three of us. Two broken windows." A rumbling sound is then heard as the building starts to collapse. Cosgrove is heard to scream "''Oh, God! Oh—!''" in fear. His call immediately cuts off and ends as the South Tower collapses at 9:59 am.

Aftermath and legacy

Cosgrove's remains were found in the rubble. He was buried on September 22, 2001, at St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the North Shore (Long Island), north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Lo ...

. He was 46 years old. He was survived by his wife, Wendy Cosgrove, a schoolteacher, and his three children. Wendy Cosgrove testified during the punishment phase of Moussaoui's trial, in which prosecutors sought the death penalty for Moussaoui. Wendy Cosgrove testified about her husband's last moments when he was trapped on the South Tower's 105th floor, and jurors heard an audio tape of Cosgrove's 9-1-1 phone call in which he told a dispatcher: "We're not ready to die." Wendy Cosgrove also testified that their oldest son, who was 12 on the day of the attacks, suffered a decline in his academic performance and had developed anger and self-destructive habits as well as trouble with the law, while their middle child, who was 9 at the time of the attacks, exhibited

self-mutilation Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...

for which she has undergone therapy. At the

National 9/11 Memorial The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

, Cosgrove is memorialized at the South Pool on Panel S-60.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgrove, Kevin 1955 births 2001 deaths Victims of the September 11 attacks Businesspeople from New York (state) Businesspeople in insurance American Roman Catholics People murdered in New York City Male murder victims Terrorism deaths in New York (state) American terrorism victims People from West Islip, New York 20th-century American businesspeople