Stop-Work Order Was in Effect at Site of Mishap

State safety inspectors had ordered a Rolling Hills Estates construction area closed down last month, nearly three weeks before a worker was impaled through the shoulder by a metal rod during a freak accident at the site.

The stop-work order was in effect Tuesday when Andres De La Hoya, 25, fell into a 46-foot hole inside the restricted area, Stephens said.

Officials had inspected the construction area on Aug. 14, state Occupational Health and Safety Administration spokesman Richard Stephens said, ordering the contractor, Reconstruction Masters Inc. of San Diego, to stop work until a plan could be worked out for improving the shoring in holes being dug to stabilize a house foundation. De La Hoya fell about 25 feet down the hole, where his shoulder was impaled on a steel reinforcing bar.