Worker crushed by beam at San Francisco tunnel project
The employers of a worker killed on a light rail tunnel project in San Francisco failed to identify potential hazards and to train workers on safety procedures, according to Cal/OSHA, which has issued $65,300 in penalties in the fatality.
The incident occurred last August, while employees were using heavy equipment and tools to work in and around the tunnel. One worker was operating a rail crane to push two flat railcars loaded with equipment into the tunnel. The crane’s boom was in an upward vertical position when it struck an overhead steel beam. The beam was dislodged from its support brackets and fell approximately 13 feet, fatally crushing an employee walking nearby.