Scissor lift falls 14 stories from building under construction in OKC, killing operator

Updated Sep 17, 2016
A lift operator was killed when his machine fell from the side of the BOK Plaza Tower in Oklahoma City last week. Photo Credit: Oklahoma City Fire Department Facebook pageA lift operator was killed when his machine fell from the side of the BOK Plaza Tower in Oklahoma City last week. Photo Credit: Oklahoma City Fire Department Facebook page

A construction worker in Oklahoma City was killed last week when the scissor lift he was working from fell from the side of a building.

According to a report from The Oklahoman, 33-year-old Alex Baiza was using the lift September 9 to remove concrete framework from inside the BOK Park Plaza Tower, a 27-story building under construction in the city’s downtown. Co-workers and witnesses say Baiza had unloaded a pile of the framework and had stopped to load up again when the machine suddenly went forward, falling 14 stories to the ground below.

Witnesses said it’s possible that Baiza thought he was pressing the control to lift the machine’s platform, but instead moved the machine forward, sending the lift over the edge of the unfinished building and crashing through safety netting.

As the machine went over the side, witnesses say Baiza grabbed onto some wiring to avoid being pulled off the building. However, because he was harnessed into the machine, he was pulled over and killed by the fall. A co-worker attempted to reach out for Baiza, The Oklahoman reports, but didn’t make it to him in time.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident.

Though the safety net installed on the building is not designed to catch a piece of equipment, The Oklahoman reports that OSHA also requires jobsites where equipment will be operated near an open edge to also install guardrails or curbs to prevent accidents like this one. As of right now, it’s not clear whether or not the BOK Park Plaza Tower had such rails.

Baiza worked for Baker Concrete Construction, a subcontractor on the project. In the wake of the accident, the newspaper reports all workers on the jobsite were expected to go through a safety meeting.