Construction worker dies after falling off Beltway South overpass near Highway 288
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- An investigation is underway after a construction worker died from a fall off the highway in south Harris County.
This happened Friday morning on the westbound feeder road under Beltway 8 South and Highway 288.
Construction workers were seen embracing each other after news of their co-worker's death.
Harris County Precinct 7 Constable's Office believe the incident was an accident.
A spokesperson for Blue Ridge Transportation, the developer for the Highway 288 expansion project, told ABC13's Katherine Marchand that the man who died was a worker with subcontractor Choctaw Construction.
SEE ALSO: Construction worker accidents by the numbers, according to OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.
ABC13 looked at the numbers with accidents involving construction workers.
According to OSHA, there were 971 construction deaths in 2017. A majority of these deaths were caused by a worker falling.
Drive288 released this statement late Friday:
The Drive288 team is saddened by this accident and loss of life of one of our subcontractors this morning. We offer our most sincere condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the young man who passed. We can confirm that he worked for our subcontractor - Choctaw Construction.
The worker was performing decking on the steel beams at SH 288 and the Beltway. He fell from the beam he was working on. When the deputies and EMS arrived at the scene this morning, co-workers were in the process of administering CPR. It has been determined that he died upon impact.
Safety is our number one priority for all of the workers on this project and the traveling public. In honor of his life, our team will take the next couple of days to review and reflect on our safety precautions. We are not releasing the name of the worker at this time per the family's request for privacy. All construction work scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled. As more information becomes available, we will notify the media.
