Worker Killed in Accident as House is Moved Along Street

A day laborer hired by a house-moving company was fatally injured Thursday morning when the house made contact with trees along Grand Avenue in Walnut, authorities said.

Shortly before 6 a.m., workers from H and H Movers tried to realign the house away from trees along a hillside, said investigators with the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

The house, however, shifted on its supports and a beam struck the worker in the midsection, said Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer.

Sheriff’s Department investigators indicated that the worker might have been pinned between the house and the truck.

The man was airlifted to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he later died. He was not identified, pending notification of relatives.

Fryer said Cal-OSHA will investigate the company’s equipment, training and operating procedures.

Both sides of Grand Avenue near Mountaineer Road were closed to traffic early Thursday. Late in the morning, crews moved the house again--this time braced with a big rig in the front and another in the back.

As the house moved down Grand, it continued to rub against trees on both sides. By early afternoon, the house had been moved to a staging area in a vacant lot.

Authorities were investigating whether the house was too wide for the street.