Man remembered for dedication to St. Paul's water services
EAST ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A community is remembering a man dedicated to the City of St. Paul and St. Paul Regional Water Services.
Peter Davis was struck and killed by a dump truck while working at a road construction site on Wabasha and Seventh Street.
Vogel's Lounge in East St. Paul was one of Peter Davis' favorite spots, and ironically the drink of choice to toast him was a glass of water. If you live in St. Paul, Davis definitely had an impact on your having clean water over his 44 years at the water utility.
Davis was a family man, a proud husband, father, and grandfather. He also had his work family, where the water weighed the same as blood.
"There's going to be 500 people without water. Someone has to fix it. It was fun to answer the call to go with him. If he was the boss you loved to go with him," Biz McAllister said.
He calls Davis the brother he never had, and a presence now that will never be replaced. Davis, fresh off his July retirement from the water utility, joining the private sector and was working for a private contractor on the city of St. Paul's Wabasha Street reconstruction project. According to police, a dump truck on Wednesday struck and killed the 61-year-old.
OSHA on Friday confirmed an investigation on the site, which includes nearly 30 different private contractors.
"I looked up to him for many years and not having him here. He was like that security blanket that if you had any questions. He was a phone call away," McAllister said.
Phone calls that Davis's family say he never ignored, be it nights, weekends or holidays.
"Guys that work for him can only hope to carry that torch and be a Pete someday," McAllister said.
St. Paul Police say there is no indication of any criminal negligence, but the investigation will take several months.
Construction resumed at Wabasha Street and is expected to wrap up in November.
