A tragic accident at a South Side construction site Thursday has left one ironworker dead and another critically injured after they both fell approximately nine stories from a scaffold. The incident took place at the University of Chicago Medicine's new cancer research center construction site, located in the 5600 block of South Maryland Avenue, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Chicago Fire Department reported that the fall occurred shortly after 12:15 p.m. during high winds. Larry Langford, a spokesman for the department, noted that the workers were “building a new cancer research center” when they fell, landing on the ground. The surviving worker was immediately taken in critical condition to UChicago Medicine, located steps from the accident site. Authorities have started to thoroughly investigate the circumstances that led to this incident, as per reports by the Chicago Tribune. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an inspection into the accident that could take up to six months to complete.
In a statement obtained by Patch, the general contractor for the project, Turner Construction, expressed their condolences, stating, "thoughts and prayers to the victims’ loved ones" and confirmed that work at the site has been halted with grief counseling being made available to employees. The Chicago Police Department responded to the emergency alongside OSHA investigators at approximately 11:45 a.m., authorities said. The deceased worker was a 27-year-old man, who was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago hospital.
New Horizon Steel, the employer of the workers, reportedly has not been previously investigated. OSHA will now look into the details of the accident to ensure compliance with safety regulations and to determine the cause of the fall. According to WGN, which reported on the conditions at the time, the construction site was experiencing over 40 mph wind gusts. The area remains cordoned off by police tape as University police officers maintain a presence on East 57th Street from Cottage Grove Avenue to Drexel Avenue, as noted by the Chicago Tribune.
