1 Demolition Worker Dies, 1 Hurt in Plunge From Scaffolding

One worker was killed and another was critically injured Monday morning when scaffolding gave way and they fell from the top story of an apartment building in Hollywood.

The La Paula Apartment Building was being demolished to make way for an affordable family-housing complex.

Witnesses at the scene said the pair were on the scaffolding, jackhammering a portion of a wall on the fifth floor. When the wall gave way, so did the scaffolding, they said.

Los Angeles Police Sgt. David L. Rosenberg said one worker, described as a man in his 30s, was dead at the scene after the 10:40 accident.

Rosenberg said a second worker, who also was unidentified, was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was reported late Monday in critical but stable condition. Hospital officials could not immediately describe the extent of his injuries.

Investigators from Cal/OSHA stopped the demolition work at the site, 1670 N. Western Ave., while they investigated. They could not be reached for comment late Monday.

The partially demolished building is directly south of the construction site for a Red Line subway station at Western and Hollywood Boulevard, but the razing is not related to the Metro Rail subway project.

The demolition work was contracted to a Chatsworth company by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency to clear the site for a 61-unit affordable housing complex, an agency spokeswoman said.

John Molloy, the agency’s administrator, called Monday’s accident tragic, adding: “We have been informed that all safety precautions had been implemented, and we will insist and participate in any subsequent investigation.”

Officials with William L. Olson Inc., the contractor, could not be reached for comment.