Construction worker is killed and four are injured as 35ft wall of metal collapses on building site at University of California San Diego
- Family members named Sergio Cruz, 32, as the victim, according to local media
- Four others were injured, two seriously, in the incident at the campus Thursday
- The workers had been building a mixed-use community on the west of campus
- Cruz, from Tecate, Mexico, was a ‘good father’ to his young daughter family said
- The $627million complex for Clark Construction due to be finished by fall 2020
A construction worker has been killed after a 35ft wall of metal fell from a building site at the University of California San Diego.
Family members have named 32-year-old Sergio Cruz as the victim, according to local media, in the incident that also injured four other laborers.
The reinforced steel frame fell from a future high-rise building on the campus and hit one man in the head, a university spokesman said.
Family members have named 32-year-old Sergio Cruz as the victim, according to local media, in the incident (pictured) that also injured four other laborers
Two people were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital but another – later identified as Mr Cruz – died.
There were a further two serious injuries in the accident on Thursday.
Witness Tim Kubota, who works near the site, told NBC San Diego: ‘Solid columns of rebar and they were bent over like little blades of grass.
‘Whatever made those things bend over must have been a pretty heavy thing that fell.’
Witness Tim Kubota, who works near the site, said: ‘Solid columns of rebar (pictured) and they were bent over like little blades of grass’
Courtesy of KSWB
Mr Cruz and the four injured workers were building North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood, a mixed-use community on the west of the campus, for Clark Construction.
The $627million complex – the largest single project in the campus’s history – is due to be finished by fall 2020.
A statement from Clark Construction said: ‘We have started a full investigation and are cooperating with the proper authorities, including Cal/OSHA [Division of Occupational Safety and Health].
Mr Cruz and the four injured workers were building North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood (pictured), a mixed-use community on the west of the campus, for Clark Construction
‘We take all matters involving the safety of our workforce, our jobsites, and the public seriously.’
It added: ‘Our deepest sympathies are with this individual’s family, friends, and co-workers during this incredibly difficult time.’
Mr Cruz, from Tecate, Mexico, was a ‘good father’ to his young daughter and a ‘hard worker’, his family said.
Mr Cruz, from Tecate, Mexico, was a ‘good father’ to his young daughter and a ‘hard worker’, his family said
UC San Diego said in a statement: ‘We are incredibly saddened by the tragic accident that occurred today on the Clark Construction Group jobsite on the UC San Diego campus.
‘Our deepest sympathies go out to the family, friends and co-workers of the person who lost their life, and our hearts and thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy.’
Clark Construction has been involved in 13 investigations in the last ten years, according to Cal/OSHA, but none in San Diego.