The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating an electrical accident that killed one worker and injured another Tuesday morning in North Lawndale.
The investigation was opened with the workers’ employer, Interlayer Corp., and general contractor Burling Builders, according to OSHA. By law, the labor inspection agency has six months to complete an investigation.
The two men, 26 and 33, were on a crane lift working at a construction site about 8:30 a.m. in the 3400 block of West Ogden Avenue when the 33-year-old man “made contact” with an electrical line, Chicago police said.
The two carpenters were on a scissor-lift platform about five stories high attaching metal framing to the outside of a building when the incident happened, according to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times.
The platform swayed into a nearby power line that electrified the platform and caused the wheels on the lift to “burst into flames,” according to the police report. The 33-year-old worker touched the railing of the lift and was electrocuted, police said.
He was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
The 26-year-old worker was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was initially listed in good condition, police said.
Interlayer declined to comment on the accident, telling the Sun-Times it “wasn’t appropriate to comment at the moment.” Burling Builders were not immediately available for comment.
No prior violations were found for Interlayer or Burling Builders dating back to 2000, according to an OSHA search database.