Worker killed in accident at Woburn library
Officials probe tragedy
Investigators are probing the death of a worker who was killed yesterday at a construction site at the Woburn Public Library.
State police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office were notified shortly before noon by Woburn police that the man had been killed at a work site behind the Pleasant Street library, which is undergoing renovation.
“The preliminary investigation suggests that the decedent, a man in his 30s, had been working alongside the foundation of the building when he was apparently struck by a piece of rock that had broken free,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “The victim was pronounced dead on scene.”
The body of the worker, whose name was not released, was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which will determine the cause of death.
Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin said the man was “crushed under the building.”
The victim worked for Schnabel Foundation Co., according to W.L. French Excavating Corp., which had hired Schnabel to work on the foundation.
“At the time of the accident, Schnabel Foundation Co. was working on the underpinning of the library, and the deceased was working under their direction,” the excavator said in a statement. “Crews from W.L. French were working on parking lot renovations when the accident occurred.”
Schnabel referred all questions to general contractor Consigli Construction Co., whose president, Matthew Consigli, said, “We’re collecting those facts” about how the incident occurred.
Construction was halted yesterday, and city officials and contractors are scheduled to meet today to discuss safety for the $31 million project, which includes an addition to the library, a national landmark designed by H. H. Richardson and built in 1879.
A spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it is investigating the fatality.
Schnabel Foundation Co. has had 10 OSHA violations dating back to 2009 in six states, according to the administration. In Massachusetts, it had one violation that was deemed “serious” in 2015 related to safety training and education for its employees. It was ordered to pay a $4,500 penalty, and the matter was settled in November of that year.