Local News in Brief : Fountain Valley : Worker Fatally Crushed Beneath Fallen Lumber

A worker was crushed to death Monday when a rack of lumber collapsed on him at the Home Club in Fountain Valley, fire and hospital officials said.

Steven Ward, 20, of Garden Grove, was dead on arrival at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Sheila Holliday said.

Westminster Fire Department Capt. Elvis Easley said the Home Club employee was crushed by lumber when one of the steel arms on a storage rack collapsed about 3 p.m.

“When we arrived he had been uncovered by employees and bystanders there,” Easley said. “He apparently was the only one there from what I can gather. The details are kind of sketchy. No one apparently witnessed it that I could determine from the people there.”

A Westminster Fire Department engine company and paramedic unit responded to the accident at 16061 Brookhurst St. because they are closer than Fountain Valley Fire Department stations, Easley said.

Mike Becker, who identified himself as a “representative” of the Home Club, said, “There won’t be any statement pending a further investigation.”