3 Workers Injured as 25-Foot Platform Falls

A 25-foot-high platform toppled over Thursday, injuring three workers. Two were hospitalized, one with a back injury and the other with a punctured lung.

Cal/OSHA officials have begun an investigation into how the hydraulic scissor lift that held the three men toppled over.

The workers are part of a crew building a seven-screen Laemmle’s cinema at Colorado Boulevard and El Molino Avenue.

Aurelino Arellano, 38, was in intensive care Thursday night at Huntington Memorial Hospital with a lumbar fracture. He was in serious condition, officials said.

Abel Arellano, 37, was in stable condition at St. Luke’s Medical Center with fractured ribs and a punctured lung, a nurse said. The third worker was treated for minor injuries and released.

Cal/OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said the men worked for Team West Construction, a Moreno Valley firm. “We will be examining the training level for employees because they were operating the platform on an incline,” he said.