Falling slabs kill worker Bloomington Pantagraph, IL
Robert Sylvester, a member of Ironworkers Local 112, was among a handful of workers welding the steel-reinforced concrete when the slabs fell off the eastern side.
'It just fell before we could get it all welded,' he said. 'I've worked in construction all my life. I've never seen anything like this. It's a freak accident.'
Kouri Mack was in the cabin of the Manitowoc 888 crane that lifts the pre-cast concrete slabs onto the deck.
'I was praying nobody was under there,' said the Peoria man, who is in the third year of a four-year apprenticeship with Heavy Equipment Operators Local 649 and has worked for Gingrich Crane at the site since October. 'Once it tipped, I knew it was going down.'
The Day After WEEK-TV, IL
Officials from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration are trying to determine what caused 33-tons of concrete to fall four stories, crushing Martinez-Juarez.