A tragic incident occurred in West Philadelphia where one construction worker was confirmed dead, and two others sustained critical injuries after a cherry picker they were working on toppled over, crushing the utility work van beneath it. According to CBS News Philadelphia, the accident happened near the intersection of 45th and Moravian streets just before 1 p.m. on September 6.

Emergency services rushed to the 4400 block of Moravian Street after receiving reports of the construction accident, where they found the cherry picker lying on its side atop the mangled remains of a work truck; footage from SkyFOX later verified this dire scene. The men reportedly fell from approximately two stories high, with one of the workers, a 47-year-old man, succumbing to his injuries shortly after reaching the hospital, as confirmed by Philadelphia police and reported by Fox 29 News.

The names of the involved employers, Vuong HVAC and Smart Builders I, LLC, were revealed by a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor, with neither company having a prior OSHA inspection history, as obtained from a statement made by the same spokesperson to CBS News Philadelphia. A concerned local resident, Linda Cook, told the same source that the sudden incident was signaled by a loud 'thump', prompting her to witness the harrowing aftermath and the arrival of emergency services.

Investigations into the cause of this equipment collapse are currently underway by OSHA and Philadelphia's Department of Licenses & Inspections, which are expected to provide insights into this tragic occurrence within six months, with one witness describing the scene to NBC Philadelphia as seeing three people on the ground near the toppled equipment, one of which appeared unresponsive in the chaos that ensnared Moravian Street.