Pa. worker dies in construction accident - Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA
A worker for a Western Pennsylvania company died Wednesday when a 6,500-pound metal form with a construction worker strapped to it fell from a crane at an Interstate 64 bridge construction site in Dunbar, W.Va.
The victim was identified by police and fire officials as Jon Beatty, 47, of Punxsutawney.
Mr. Beatty, a married father of three, worked for Brayman Construction Corp. of Saxonburg. The company said yesterday he was a carpenter foreman.
Today would have been his 48th birthday, said Mike Welsh, lead council representative for Carpenters Local 2274 in Robinson.
Mr. Beatty was initiated to the union in 1990. The local represents nearly 1,000 carpenters in 60 counties.
"He was an excellent carpenter," Mr. Welsh said.
Officials said Mr. Beatty was strapped to the metal so that he could unhook it from the crane after it was in place.
When the slab fell, it took Mr. Beatty with it, said Dunbar Police Chief E.E. Whittington.