One killed, one injured after wall collapses during road-widening project in Arizona

One worker was killed and another was critically injured August 21 in Arizona when a wall collapsed atop them during the demolition of a building for a Tucson road-widening project.

The Arizona Daily Star is reporting that the two workers were standing against a 15-foot load-bearing wall while the building was being demolished with a back hoe for the project. The wall collapsed, and the workers were buried in the rubble.

Other workers at the demolition site rushed to begin to dig the two men free while emergency responders were on their way. One of the workers, a 54-year-old man, was pronounced dead on the scene. The other worker, 33, was rushed to the hospital for internal injuries and was in critical condition.

The City of Tucson recently purchased the old red brick building as part of a project to widen the road and Taylor’s Demolition and Recycling was brought in to handle the job.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had personnel on the scene to investigate the accident.