Wall collapses, kills construction worker

A 39-year-old construction worker died after being crushed by a guesthouse’s retaining wall on East Marin Island, officials said Tuesday.

Firefighters responded at 2:45 p.m. Monday after a report of a person trapped on the island. Shawn Frederick Moore, of Woodland (Yolo County), was working as part of a crew taking apart a structure when a portion of the wall collapsed and trapped him under debris, authorities said.

Crews were demolishing guesthouses on the island, a relic of a privately owned property inhabited decades ago, said Doug Cordell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s San Francisco office.

Moore “suffered extensive crushing-traumatic injuries” and was unresponsive immediately after the incident, according to the Marin County Sheriff ’s Office. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

East Marin Island is within the jurisdiction of the San Rafael Police Department, but it is home to a state-owned ecological habitat and overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Three boats and a medical rescue helicopter were dispatched to assist with the investigation. Cal/OSHA has been notified of the incident, officials said.

Cordell declined to provide additional information on Monday’s incident.