Man Who Fell Into Shaft at Valencia Building Site Dies

A building inspector who was wedged into a 66-foot-deep shaft for nearly four hours at a Valencia construction site earlier this week has died.

Jaime Lozoya, 32, of Downey died at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he had been in critical condition since the accident two days earlier. Details of his injuries have not been released, at the request of his family, but Lozoya went into cardiac arrest as he was pulled out of the hole by rescuers and had to be revived.

Lozoya, a contract employee with the city of Santa Clarita, fell into a shaft Tuesday at 23948 Via Onda, where two homes had been demolished after the Northridge earthquake. The openings in the ground were to be filled with concrete and steel reinforcements for seismic safety.

In a dramatic scene captured live by television cameras, rescuers painstakingly lowered themselves into the 2 1/2-foot-wide hole, finally pulling Lozoya out in a harness after he passed out.

On Friday, workers gathered at the construction site to discuss Lozoya’s death. They described the Downey resident as likable and energetic, saying he often spoke of building his own home near the coast south of Los Angeles, according to project manager Ray Miller.

Although some employees indicated they are uncomfortable working near where Lozoya was injured, none have asked to leave the job site, Miller said. On the day of the accident, witnesses said, Lozoya had removed the plywood covering from the opening of the pit, but it remains unclear whether he accidentally stepped into the hole or whether the ground surrounding the opening collapsed.

“It wasn’t anybody’s fault,” said Bob Howard, a carpenter who saw Lozoya fall. “It was just a stupid accident.”

Lozoya was employed by Anaheim-based Willdan and Associates, one of several building inspection firms Santa Clarita hired to help with thousands of structural reviews necessary after the Northridge earthquake.

Construction at the accident site is continuing because Cal/OSHA--which is investigating the accident--does not believe an imminent hazard exists to workers, agency spokesman John Duncan said.

Members of an urban search and rescue team from Redondo Beach rescued Lozoya from the shaft, to the applause of co-workers and other onlookers. But it had taken hours.

One by one, rescuers dangling from a rope were lowered into the hole to try to slip a harness around Lozoya, whose legs were pinned under him and who complained of back pains.

Efforts were made to keep Lozoya alive and comfortable, including pumping oxygen down to him and supplying him with Gatorade. But it was not until he lost consciousness, causing his body to relax, that rescuers were able to lift him from the hole.

An autopsy by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office is expected to be conducted today or Sunday.

Special correspondent Mark Sabbatini contributed to this report.