Fatal Construction Accident in Brooklyn Kills One Worker and Injures Another
Bronx construction accident
BROOKLYN, NY – According to an online news report posted on nydailynews.com, police officers and firefighters managed to remove the workers from a brick wall collapse accident. Tragically, one worker was killed at the scene of the construction accident, while the other work was rescued from the rubble. The news report states that the tragic Brooklyn construction site accident occurred on Monday. The report states that a nine-foot retaining wall crumpled on top of two construction workers and buried the men under a massive pile of brick and cement. The nine-foot retaining wall collapse accident occurred at a job site located at 454 42nd Street near Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
Emergency rescue crews worked frantically to rescue the trapped construction workers who were buried alive underneath the rubble. According to Stephen Russo, the Medical Branch director and division chief for the FDNY stated that the rescue was very difficult. Mr. Russo stated that one of the rescue crews used high-equipped airbags as the rescue crews used their extraction tools to uncover the construction workers. Mr. Russo did not provide any details as to how the construction accident occurred. Mr. Russo said that a neighboring backyard at 453 43rd Street was vacated following the sudden collapse. Mr. Russo also stated that the construction project was along the property line of two separate two units. According to Mr. Russo, the retaining wall was holding back “the earth and everything.”
One terrified neighbor, who was speaking in Spanish and did not want to be named in the news report, stated that the wall was unfinished. The witness stated that he was on his balcony yesterday, and he noticed a gap at the bottom of the wall. He also stated that the ground was very wet due to rain, and the wall was not covered to protect it from the rain. He finished the interview by stating that the accident was a shame and a loss of life for nothing.
The news report asserts that a complaint filed with the Department of Buildings in 2014 alleged the homeowner used unlicensed contractors to construct a retaining wall on their property for a flower bed.
Another unnamed witness stated that she witnessed the same retaining wall collapsing a few months ago, and another crew has “fixing it.” However, the woman stated that she believes the previous repair crew must have done a “half a–ed job” on the repair.
A new worker with the construction crew left the site to have lunch when the wall collapsed on his co-workers. He stated that he rushed to the site to see what happened when he heard an ambulance approaching the accident site. The worker said that he was traumatized and felt he could not even speak.
The worker’s wife came to the site to provide support to her husband. She told the news reporters that she thanks God that her husband was OK. Her husband began to cry as he held his wife, saying repeatedly, “God saved me! God saved me! God saved me,” as tears rolled down the worker’s face.
City property records identified the property owner, and the man declined to comment about the accident when questioned by reporters.
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