Construction worker killed in Newton by collapsed concrete wall
Emergency responders were called to the home on Winchester Street just before 8 a.m.
A man working in the backyard of a Newton home was killed early Thursday morning when a concrete wall collapsed on top of him. First responders arrived on scene at 15 Winchester St. at 7:58 a.m., but fire officials said what began as a rescue mission turned into a recovery effort when it was determined the construction worker trapped under the wall had died.
BREAKING
Rescue crews in #Newton confirm this is now a “recovery” effort.
Watch @boston25 for updates. pic.twitter.com/RH6AimIlxJ
— Peter Wilson (@PetesWire) May 6, 2021
The initial investigation into the incident indicates that the 55-year-old man was working on the foundation of the home when the wall collapsed, “pinning him into the ground,” the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The name of the worker and the details of the construction work being done at the home were not released by authorities.
The cause of the wall’s collapse will be investigated by Newton police and the DA’s office, Newton Fire Chief Gino Lucchetti said during a press conference. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also conducting an investigation into the incident.
The effort to recover the body of the construction worker took hours, the chief said. Rescuers had to dig down under collapsed concrete and gravel to reach the deceased.
“It’s very difficult, it’s emotional, it’s long, it’s tedious,” Lucchetti said of the effort. “But your mind is on your tactic at the time, so it’s afterwards that we think about what we’ve just been through.”
BREAKING: Newton Fire chief confirms a worker was killed when a concrete wall collapsed behind this home on Winchester Street @wbz pic.twitter.com/qYnOQOhs9U
— Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) May 6, 2021
No one else was injured in the collapse of the wall, which fire officials only specified was located in the backyard of the home and was not attached to the dwelling.
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