1 Dies, 2 Injured After Fall From Construction Site

DUBLIN, Ohio -- A Columbus construction worker fell to his death Wednesday at a Dublin construction site after a scaffolding collapsed, injuring two co-workers as well.

NBC 4’s Patrick Preston reported from the scene Wednesday.

Crews were called to a construction site at 6100 Emerald Pkwy. Dublin at about 11:20 a.m.

The masonry workers were laying brick on the outside of the structure when the accident happened.

Dublin police reported the men were working on the future IGS Energy headquarters when the scaffolding they were standing on gave way.

The three workers fell different distances from the scaffolding: one fell to the ground, a second worker fell two stories and a third worker fell one story, according to Dublin Public Information Officer Mike Racey.

Wilbert Johnson, 52, of Columbus died after he fell an unknown distance.

Racey said details of Johnson's death were not available.

Racey told NBC 4 that it appeared to be an accident, but police conducted numerous interviews as part of the investigation.

Racey said Brock Oldaker, 43, of Columbus, was treated and released from an area hospital. Gary Rathburn, 49, of Galloway, is in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

IGS Energy referred all inquiries to Messer Construction, the company overseeing the construction project.

Messer spokesperson Jim Kapp told NBC 4 he could not offer any information about the workers or the accident when contacted early this afternoon.

“Our thoughts are with the workers injured today and their families,” Kapp said.

The three workers involved in Wednesday's construction accident in Dublin worked for International Masonry based in Columbus. Messer Construction hired International Masonry as a subcontractor.

International Masonry has been cited for 14 violations and fined $17,032 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) over the past 10 years, including two violations and an $8,000 fine for a fatal accident at a school construction site in 2002.

RELATED: International Masonry's Record Of Violations

According to an April 8, 2002 OSHA report on International Masonry:
"On April 5, 2002, Employee #1, a mason, was working on a construction site for a school. Employee #1 let himself down through the walk planks on the outrigger and was attempting to climb down one level on the scaffold to egress. The ladder being used for access/egress to the scaffold was on the third level. While climbing down on the end rail, Employee #1 lost his footing and fell 26 ft between the scaffold and the wall being constructed. The access ladder on the third level was a 32-ft extension ladder which was not long enough to reach the fourth level of the scaffold where the block was being laid. All the members of the crew stated that they got down from the scaffold the same way as Employee #1 was attempting to when he fell. Employee #1 sustained a fractured neck and head injury and was pronounced dead at the hospital."

RELATED: April 2002 Fatal Accident Report

Calls to International Masonry were not returned Wednesday afternoon.

Work on the project has been stopped as an accident investigation continues.

It remained unclear when work at the site would resume.

CLARIFICATION
Earlier, NBC 4 reported Messer Construction was cited for four OSHA violations in 2006. Since then, Messer Construction spokesperson Jim Kapp informed NBC 4 that the Messer Construction cited for four safety violations in 2006 is not the Columbus-based commercial construction company Messer that is managing the construction of the IGS Energy Building in Dublin.

NBC 4 called an OSHA manager who examined the 2006 file and confirmed the Messer Construction cited in 2006 is not related to Columbus-based Messer Construction.

A Messer spokesperson told NBC 4 the company has an outstanding safety record and received the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America’s 2009 Construction Safety Excellence Award.

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