UPDATE May 14, 2019 (4 p.m.): Authorities have identified the man who died as Jose Ramos-Enrriquez of Mcgaheysville. He was 42 years old.
ORIGINAL STORY:
NEWPORT NEWS — A construction worker was killed after steel fell on him and another worker at a high-rise construction site here Tuesday morning, according to the contractor.
The statement read in part:
“On the morning of May, 14, an incident occurred at the Ferguson Enterprises Headquarters Building 3 high-rise construction project in City Center, Newport News. From our initial investigation, we know that several pieces of steel fell from the second floor, striking two workers below. Both workers were employed by the steel subcontractor. At the time of the incident, W. M. Jordan Company’s project superintendent immediately administered first aid until emergency response personnel arrived on scene.”
The location is the future site of Ferguson‘s new facility and construction started in June of last year with W.M. Jordan as the project’s main contractor. See W.M. Jordan’s past projects here.
“The gentleman was on the bottom ground level when a heavy load broke through above him and then struck him and as a result of those injuries he obviously succumbed to his injuries,” said Brandon Maynard, Newport News Police spokesman.
Maynard said OSHA will be investigating.
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Denise Vaughn, spokeswoman for Ferguson, issued this statement.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of today’s tragedy. The safety, health and well-being of our associates and anyone working on our job sites is our greatest concern. We are providing grief counseling for anyone onsite. We are working with W. M. Jordan and their subcontractors to confirm the details of the accident and support the ongoing investigation. Again, we are deeply saddened by this tragic incident and our hearts go out to those involved and their families.”
WYDaily reached out to W.M. Jordan, the contractor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Norfolk office. Neither organization was immediately available for comment.
Five days ago, W.M. Jordan celebrated Construction Safety Week, according to the contractor’s Facebook page.
At approximately 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, emergency dispatchers received a call about an industrial incident involving man with serious and life threatening injuries at the 700 block of Lakefront Commons, Newport News Police said in a news release.
Two men were taken to a local hospital — one with only minor injuries. The other man, whose identity has not been released, died at the hospital.
