Worker Crushed to Death by Concrete Wall Section
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RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — A construction foreman was crushed to death Wednesday when a 35-ton section of concrete wall fell on him at a building site, authorities said.
Harold Cooper, 48, a foreman for Howell & Bros. of Las Vegas, and another worker were using hydraulic jacks to align the 15-foot by 20-foot wall when it tore loose from metal brackets and fell, witnesses and investigators said.
Cooper died instantly, said Capt. Scott Brown of the Orange County Fire Authority. The other worker was not injured.
Brown said a faulty jack may have caused the wall to break loose.
“The accident happened so quickly, in a blink of an eye,” he said. “There was very little reaction time for anybody to safely escape.”
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