Construction Worker Killed, Another Seriously Hurt In Stairwell Collapse At Cambridge Parking Garage
BOSTON (CBS) – One construction worker was killed and another was seriously injured Wednesday morning when a stairwell collapsed at a city-owned parking garage in Cambridge.
It happened around 8:20 a.m. at a garage under construction on Spring Street near Second Street.
Cambridge Fire Chief Gerry Mahoney said the worker who survived was rushed to an area hospital with serious chest and arm injuries.
The two men, who both work for a subcontractor, have not yet been identified. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said a 56-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene while a 41-year-old was hospitalized.
"This was one of 9 fatalities in the workplace since the beginning of January - four in the construction industry," said Jodi Sugerman-Brozan, the executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, adding that when working with subcontractors, "who is responsible for health and safety isn't always clear and needs to be clearer."
The men were working on the second floor of the garage removing an existing stairwell that was set to be replaced. Mahoney said the stairwell weighed at least one ton, if not more. The project has been underway for about a month.
"It's just unbelievable you never know what can happen," said Gineton Silva, who is working on another construction project nearby. "It's very sad when someone dies. You don't want that happening to anyone or have anyone injured."
According to Mahoney, the worker who survived was quickly removed from the debris, but it took hours to remove the man who died, who was buried under heavy debris. "You're talking steel risers with poured concrete on top. At least a ton, if not more."
The project, by Stucture Preservation Systems, out of Connecticut, has been ongoing for at least a month.