Just this afternoon, 16 pedestrians were injured and trapped as a walkway and scaffolding collapsed in downtown San Diego. Police said about 25 people were walking or loitering in the covered walkway when its wooden walls and roof suddenly crashed to the ground. A part of a scaffolding in a construction site next to the walkway also collapsed on the victims.
Injuries and Investigations
The injured passersby range in age from 16 to 64. Five of them are females and 11 are males. Three of them—a man aged 50 and two women aged 57 and 60—were critically injured and taken by medics to a trauma center. The other victims who suffered from moderate to minor injuries were taken to hospitals.
Allgire General Contractors Inc. of Carlsbad, the builder of the three-story apartment building, closed the site immediately after the accident. The building, designed to have 275 units, was intended for low-income residents.
Julie Hattler, chief financial officer for the building’s developer Affirmed Housing Group, said their company has yet to determine the cause of the collapse. State occupational-safety officials are now conducting their own investigations on the incident.
Past Safety Violations
This is not the first time Allgire General assumed the hot seat. According to U.S. Department of Labor records, the company was fined thrice in the past for safety violations. The largest fine it had to face was $15,750 in December 2004. This was because of the absence of guardrails on an elevated platform or stairway at their work site.
Dean Fryer, spokesperson for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health said the company was penalized with $5,000 in February 2005 for failing to report an accident. He also said they were fined again with $150 in April 2002 for using an uncovered electrical outlet box.
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