BRIDGE REPAIR Worker 'critical' after fall on the job

The construction supervisor is lucky to be alive, a federal safety official said.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Great Lakes Construction Co. superintendent was in critical condition in St. Elizabeth Health Center early today after a 30- to 35-foot fall through a portion of the Division Street Bridge to the road below when a support collapsed.
Reconstruction of the bridge is part of the 7-11 Connector project for which Great Lakes is the contractor.
Grant Salzgerber, who suffered broken vertebrae and a broken arm, is lucky to be alive, said Darlene Fossoum, assistant area director for safety construction team leaders for the Cleveland office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Fossoum said Salzgerber rode a piece of plywood to the road below the bridge and that apparently broke his fall somewhat.
"It's a miracle," she said.
What happened
Fossoum said a support structure under the bridge, called a whaler, collapsed about 8 a.m., causing Salzgerber and a laborer on the job, Murrll Childs, to fall. However, Childs grabbed onto the bridge and hung on until he was rescued. He was released from St. Elizabeth after being treated for minor injuries. Fossoum said work on the section of the bridge where the accident occurred was restricted Wednesday until after an initial site investigation by OSHA and Great Lakes safety personnel.
Work has since resumed, but she said the cause of the accident, or if any safety standards were violated, won't be known until the investigation is complete.
However, the Youngstown Fire Department said the victims were working on a temporary wooden platforms constructed to span the main girders of the bridge. When a heavy piece of equipment was set down on one of the platforms, they collapsed.
OSHA has six months to complete an investigation, but this one should not take that long, she said.
Fossoum said that Great Lakes is a reputable and responsible company and has an excellent safety record.
Joe Allen, senior vice president for Great Lakes of Hinkley, an employee-owned company, said, "We are always deeply moved" when someone is hurt. He said Great Lakes has an active and ongoing safety program, and has an "elite" designation from OSHA.