Investigations Underway After Worker Killed in Cincinnati Partial Building Collapse

Preston Todd Delph, 58, died when a section of the seventh floor of the under-construction building collapsed

Emergency personnel gather at the scene of a partial building collapse at Fourth and Race streets in Cincinnati on November 25.

Photo by John Minchillo / AP

Preston Todd Delph, 58, an employee of Gateway Concrete Forming in Miamisburg, Ohio, died after the seventh-floor of a mixed-use development on the corner of Fourth and Race streets in Cincinnati, collapsed on him November 25.

Delph was standing on the sixth floor, below, where he was monitoring a concrete placement on the seventh floor for leaks or cracking, according to the Cincinnati Fire Department. OSHA and the City of Cincinnati are investigating the incident. Delph's body was recovered on November 26 after a 30-hour search led by the Cincinnati Fire Dept.

"The Fire Department wrapped up our part on November 26 around 9 P.M. after Mr. Delph was found," Cincinnati Fire Chief Roy Winston said. "The city is conducting its investigation along with OSHA. I am not exactly sure how many other groups are conducting independent investigations at this time."

Winston said 420 cu yds of concrete had been placed when the structure gave way, falling one level to where Delph was monitoring it. A section of the floor measuring roughly 200 ft by 40 ft collapsed. The seventh floor was to be the last parking garage level of the structure. It consisted of a reinforced-concrete floor whose weight was supported by shoring and forms while the concrete placement and curing took place. Four workers besides Delph were treated and released from local hospitals for injuries resulting from the partial collapse.

Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor for the $44-million Fourth and Race mixed-use development and began construction in November 2018. A 584-space parking garage and apartment tower was planned and the seventh floor was to be the final floor of the parking part of the project. Work only began recently on the 264-unit residential portion of the project. Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation, known as 3CDC, and Flaherty and Collins, a developer out of Indianapolis, are co-developing the project.

"It is with great sadness that we confirm that an employee of Gateway Concrete Forming died at the Fourth and Race construction site following the collapse of a section of temporary concrete form work. This is an extremely sorrowful time and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and co-workers at this difficult time. We want to thank the region’s first responders, emergency service workers and Red Cross volunteers for their tireless and selfless efforts through this entire ordeal," Turner said in a statement. The contractor also encouraged workers to utilize grief counseling services it made available.

A spokesman who answered the phone for Gateway Concrete Forming said the company would have no comment citing the ongoing investigation. 3CDC also told ENR it has no comment at this time. Flaherty and Collins did not respond to a request for comment.

ENR Midwest Editor and Associate Technology Editor Jeff Yoders has been writing about design and construction innovations for 16 years. He is a two-time Jesse H. Neal award winner and multiple ASBPE winner for his tech coverage. Jeff previously launched Building Design + Construction's building information modeling blog and wrote a geographic information systems column at CE News. He also wrote about materials prices, construction procurement and estimation for MetalMiner.com. He lives in Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, where the pace of innovation never leaves him without a story to chase.