Two Utility Workers Killed in Downtown Boston Construction Accident
Federal, state and city authorities were investigating the deaths of two men the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 24, at a downtown Boston construction site.
Boston Police responded to a call at 8 a.m. to a report of two people “struck by a motor vehicle” in the areas of 190 High St., Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Greg Long told reporters at the scene.
The bodies of the two men, pronounced dead on the scene, were recovered from a hole, The Boston Globe reported.
The identities of the two men working on utilities in the busy Financial District street were not immediately available.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced via Twitter that city officials had “immediately suspended Atlantic Coast Utilities’ only other permitted worksite in Boston.”
“Until a thorough investigation is complete, the company will not be allowed to perform work in the city,” the mayor stated on Twitter.
The owner of Atlantic Coast Utilities was not immediately available for comment, a worker who answered the office phone told ENR.
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new smart AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
The contractor was doing emergency repair work for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission on High Street, city officials told the Boston Globe.
The owner of a nearby barber shop told the newspaper that he heard a truck kick into high gear and then slam into the two men, who were standing over a hole in the street.
Walsh said several agencies are now investigating the fatal accident, including Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, the Boston Police and Fire Departments, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as the city’s inspection services and water and sewer departments.
“I am heartbroken that two hardworking people lost their lives so suddenly and tragically this morning, and we will work tirelessly to understand how this happened in order to create safer conditions in the future,” Walsh wrote on Twitter.
