Worker Injured In Latrobe Parking Garage Collapse
LATROBE (KDKA) -- Tense moments this morning after the floor of that parking garage gave way.
The $3 million renovation project on the Latrobe parking garage began back in February.
That work was interrupted Wednesday morning after the floor of the structurally deficient garage collapsed, sending a worker on a skid loader crashing into the basement.
"He was on the first floor removing the concrete decking and with like a jackhammer attachment on a skid loader and the concrete gave way and the skid loader [went] nose down thru the hole," Latrobe Fire Department Assistant Chief Bob Heintzelman said.
Latrobe police detective John Sleasman was first on the scene. He says he first summoned others to help stabilize the skid loader.
"And also the platform around us was very unstable, so we had to wait for the work crew to use pole jacks underneath of us to stabilize the floors so we could get to him," John Sleasman said.
Sleasman and others moved debris from the worker and were eventually able to pull him out the front of the loader.
He was talking when rescuers arrived, but later went into shock. The worker was taken to Latrobe Hospital and then flown to Pittsburgh.
This is the third mishap at the parking garage since renovations began. In February, a concrete slab fell during demolition.
In March, another skid loader broke through the floor, but was caught by rebar.
RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Westmoreland County News
