Work on Overpass Halted for Probe of Fatal Accident
Construction of an overpass for the Long Beach Freeway was halted Friday as state investigators sifted through evidence from a construction accident in Long Beach that killed a motorist on his way to work.
An investigator from Cal/OSHA and officers from the California Highway Patrol were conducting separate inquiries into the accident, in which a beam being moved by a crane crashed into another beam and spilled debris onto the San Diego Freeway at the freeway interchange. Anjule Quitania, 36, died when the minivan he was driving struck the 45-foot beam and pieces of scaffolding and careened off the freeway.
Caltrans officials said they had asked their contractor at the site, Ball, Ball & Brosamer, which is based in Danville, Calif., to submit a safety plan to outline precautions that will be taken to prevent accidents when construction resumes.
“We need to have some reassurance that there won’t be a repeat of this,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Margie Tiritilli.
The contracting firm was involved in a crane accident on another project near the Harbor Freeway in July 1995 that killed one worker.
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