Teen remains in grave condition after construction site fall in Pittsburgh, residents call for safety changes
By Patrick Damp, Lauren Linder
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PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A teenage boy remains in grave condition at a local hospital after he fell 30 feet at a construction site in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood on Thursday morning.
It happened on Bryant Street, when the teen was doing roof work.
For those in the area, they’ve been concerned about something like this happening for quite some time.
“Seeing that gives you kind of a funny feeling in your stomach,” said David Boynton, owner of Priority One Personal Training and Wellness.
That was Boynton’s reaction when he saw first responders outside of his business on Thursday morning.
Just 20 minutes earlier, he saw workers across the street at the construction site for new condos and retail spaces – some of them on a forklift, and others cleaning sawdust off the roof.
Then, around 10:30 a.m., he noticed one of them on the ground.
“I saw someone being brought out or put onto a gurney,” he recalled.
Police said the teenager was doing roofing work when he fell about three stories and was taken to the hospital in grave condition with a serious head injury.
“It’s just really, really sad,” said Shawn McCrorey, a trainer at Priority One. “I saw them just kind of throwing stuff up from the outside of the building, and catching it over the side, and bringing it in.”
Boynton and his employee McCrorey said what appeared to be an Amish crew, including teenagers, had been working at the site for 2-3 months, constructing the building from the ground up. They said it seemed they didn’t take many safety precautions, not wearing harnesses and walking across the beams.
“There’s no way that can be safe,” McCrorey said. “You’re thinking, in your head, something is bound to happen.”
Allegheny County property records show the current owner as Gupta Properties, and KDKA-TV has reached out for comment, but has not heard back. Other contractors listed include Certasite Pro, and they told KDKA-TV their workers were not involved.
Meanwhile, Boynton hopes for some answers and a change.
“Shouldn’t there be more oversight of these projects to make sure that things are being done safely, and not allowing individuals who are very young to work in situations like this?” Boynton asked.
Pittsburgh police are continuing to investigate, and OSHA has also confirmed to KDKA-TV that they have opened an investigation.
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