An investigation by the state division of occupational safety into the death of a worker and the critical injuries of another at a demolition site could take up to six months.
A wall collapsed on a building being demolished Aug. 21 for a city road-widening project on Grant Road. The wall toppled onto two workers.
The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health can take up to six months from the initial incident to complete its investigation, said Rachel Brockway, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Since October 2014 to early August 2015, there have been at least 14 reported fatalities on job sites in Arizona, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration records.
The worker killed was Stephen Curtis, 54, said Dr. Gregory Hess, Pima County medical examiner. The autopsy showed Curtis died as a result of blunt-force injuries when the wall toppled on him, Hess said.
A 33-year-old co-worker, who also was buried under the wallโs rubble, was taken by ambulance to Banner-University Medical Center Tucson with critical internal injuries. An update on his condition was unavailable.
The building was being demolished by Taylorโs Demolition & Recycling Inc. A work crew was using a back hoe with a bucket during the demolition.
The backhoe was being operated by Eric Taylor, the foreman and president of the demolition company, Capt. Fabian Pacheco, of the Tucson Police Department, said at the time of the incident.
On Friday, Taylor was not able to be reached for comment.
The incident happened shortly before 2 p.m. three weeks ago at a construction site at 314 E. Grant Road, just east of North Sixth Avenue.
Curtis and the other injured worker were near the back hoe, standing by a load-bearing wall when the 15-foot high wall collapsed. Their backs were to the wall, Pacheco said.
Others cleared the rubble to get to the men, and most of the rubble had been removed when firefighters arrived at the scene, Capt. Andrew Skaggs of the Tucson Fire Department said at the site shortly after the wall collapse.
Firefighters pulled the workers from the rubble. Curtis was pronounced dead at the scene.
The city of Tucson bought the building March 26 as part of the Grant Road widening project, said Mike Graham, a spokesman for the cityโs transportation department. The negotiated purchase price was $210,000, and the buildingโs appraisal was $200,000, said Graham.
The red brick-and-cinderblock building was constructed in 1953 and was was 2,320 square feet. Labor Systems Job Center was housed in the building before the city acquired it, Graham said.
Taylorโs Demolition was hired by the city to tear down the building, and has worked on other city road widening projects. The business also has done demolition projects for various city departments, Graham said.
The city is working to contract with another demolition company to complete the work at the site on East Grant Road where the fatality occurred, Graham said. He said there is no start date to when the demolition of the building will resume.
Otherwise, the Grant Road widening project has continued, Graham said, adding that the design is nearly complete. Utility work could begin later this year, and the road widening is expected to begin next year, he said.
