Worker dead following incident at Paradise Valley construction site: Phoenix FD
PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. - A worker is dead following an incident at a construction site in Paradise Valley on Monday, the Phoenix Fire Department said.
The incident happened in the area of McDonald Drive and Quail Run Road where a home was being built on July 29.
In a statement, Capt. Shaun DuBois with Phoenix Fire said crews were called to the scene at around 12:30 p.m. for reports of a person who was trapped underneath some fallen debris.
The worker was declared dead at the scene. He was identified as 56-year-old Jose Ramirez Robledo.
"Early reports indicate that multiple windows had fallen from a crane operating at the construction site onto an employee working in the area," Phoenix Fire said.
A truck driver delivering the crates of windows says he saw what happened.
A woman came yelling for him to come and help, and that's when the driver saw a man crushed between the crane and the windows.
"He was leaning on the bar of the forklift. His back was on the bar, and the windows were on top of him, but only on the stomach side," said Victor Del Castillo. "The windows didn't crush his face. He's leaning back, and the windows are standing up, crushing him."
The driver tried to get the man out, but he said the crates were so heavy that between him and five other workers, they could only move the crates by an inch.
"I literally saw the guy take his last breath," Del Castillo said. "I saw him gasp for air, and that's when the paramedics walked in and let go of the air, and they tell me he was gone."
The victim's body was reportedly recovered after three and a half hours.
Paradise Valley Police say there were no signs of foul play and the incident appears to be an accident.