Tuesday, January 11, 2000
OSHA studying collapse incident
Witness: 'All the bricks came down'
BY JANICE MORSE
and JENNY CALLISON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Rubble from a collapsed wall covered the site of the Lebanon Citizens Bank branch being built in Oxford.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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OXFORD — Investigators are trying to learn what caused a two-story concrete block wall to collapse Monday morning, injuring six construction workers.
Rescue workers were dispatched about 8:45 a.m. to North Main Street and West Park Place, where a Lebanon Citizens National Bank branch is being built. By the time emergency crews arrived, construction workers, helped by at least one bystander, had helped remove the debris that trapped some of the workers.
Windy conditions might have played a part in the accident, investigators said.
Wind gusts reached 40 to 45 mph in parts of Ohio on Monday, the National Weather Service reported. Officials also were trying to determine whether the wall was properly supported and what workers were doing at the time of the collapse, said Dennis Slessman, assistant area director for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Cincinnati area office.
“It's premature to say exactly why it happened,” he said late Monday afternoon, noting that an OSHA investigator was still at the scene.
Kathryn Sayers, a manager at the Burger King across the street, said she witnessed the collapse: “There were three tiers of scaffolding on the retaining wall. All the bricks came down.”
Among the injured were Burger King employees moonlighting in construction work, Ms. Sayers said.
About nine workers were at the scene at the time, including the six who were injured, OSHA's Mr. Slessman said.
Mr. Slessman said he thought all of the injured workers were employees of Jeff's Masonry of Fort Thomas.
That company is apparently a subcontractor, working under the general contractor for the project, Dursco Contractors Inc. of Columbia Tusculum, Mr. Slessman said.
Neither company returned telephone messages seeking comment.
James Clark, 27, of Port Orange, Fla., appeared to have suffered a serious abdominal wound and was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. He was listed in fair condition Monday afternoon.
Authorities identified four others who underwent treatment at McCullough-Hyde Hospital: Mark Poe, 24, of the Oxford area; John Peshek, 32, of Fort Thomas; Jason Bryant, 21, of Tollesboro, Ky.; and Robert Downs, 22, of the Oxford area. Their injuries included broken bones, cuts and bruises.
Of those four, only Mr. Peshek remained hospitalized Monday night. One worker refused treatment and was released. A sixth worker, who was not identified, refused treatment at the scene.
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