Authorities Looking Into Brickell Construction Site Collapse
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Authorities are trying to find out what caused a construction site collapse that left one person dead and five others injured.
Debris including lumber and metal flew off the Echo Brickell building that is under construction at 1450 Brickell Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The debris crushed a car, injured five people and led to the death of another trying to get away.
Less than 24 hours later, authorities are trying to find out what caused it.
Among new developments, Miami's mayor said the city has temporarily stopped work at this job site while OSHA investigates if there was negligence.
"The city has stopped work on the project because OSHA the federal agency is investigating whether or not there was negligence on the use of the platform," said Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado. "Until everything is known, work cannot continue on the building."
He has heard one possible cause.
"The one reason might because one of the steps of the platform was not up to protocol, but we don't know that."
According to officials, one of the pieces of debris was a platform from the top of the building.
The developers say they are taking steps to make sure this does not happen again, but those in who work and live in this area are concerned.
Those who work and live in the area said they're concerned.
"Things are not secure. We have to look up every time we're walking around and it's scary," said George Best, who works nearby.
Blasé Cunningham added, "My brother works in construction. Safety should be a top priority."
Among those injured, Claudia Garcia's sister, Aracely, was rushed to the hospital after debris fell on and crushed her car.
"She will stay overnight because she is in a lot of pain," Garcia said.
Six people were transported to hospitals, including 34-year-old construction worker Quincy Williams.
A man fleeing the scene suffered a heart attack and died while being transported to the hospital.
The developers of the building, Property Markets Group, issued a statement on the matter Thursday. It read:
"When a construction accident occurs, all you can hope for is the safety of everyone involved. Kevin, Michael Stern, myself, and everyone at PMG and JDS send our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of the gentleman who passed. At this time we understand that everyone else injured has been released from the hospital. PMG, our general contractor (JMA) and city officials are working diligently to understand what happened with the form work connection, which has not been determined at this time. The site has been secured and is currently being reinspected to ensure proper safety measures are in place." –Ryan Shear, Principal of Property Markets Group
Despite what the statement says, CBS4's Peter D'Oench reports two of the victims remain in the hospital.
No official word on what lead to this accident. A spokesman for OSHA told D'Oench that has not been determined yet.
