The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday (March 28) opened an investigation into a construction accident one day earlier at Interstate 540 and Porter Road in Fayetteville, an official said.
The investigation is in the preliminary stages but will examine whether safety regulations were being followed when the worker fell on Thursday (March 27), said OSHA spokesman Juan Rodriguez.
The worker is employed by Pace Construction Co., a highway construction firm based in St. Louis, Mo. He was transported Thursday afternoon to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville with serious injuries, according to emergency responders.
On Friday, the worker, whose name was not being released, was in stable condition, said Joe Reichmuth, Pace spokesman.
Medical crews responded at 2:22 p.m. on Thursday to the location after receiving a call that a worker fell about 30 feet from the bridge onto the surface below. It was unknown if the man’s injuries are life-threatening, but he may have suffered internal bleeding and several fractures, said Fayetteville Fire Department Battalion Chief Mauro Campos.
The man was on a piece of scaffolding cutting rebar from concrete barriers when the scaffolding gave way, dropping him from the bridge onto the ground below, Campos said. Work on the bridge was stopped after the incident, he said.
The battalion chief said the workers were conducting a project to widen the bridge.
No one else was hurt in the incident.
