2008 Woodie Awards
Three dead after Piano Row accident
Dan Muse
Issue date: 4/6/06 Section: News
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The state's Inspectional Services Department (ISD) and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have begun inquiries into the cause of the accident.
The men were killed at about 1:15 p.m. Monday afternoon when a three-ton lift used to finish the façade of the building fell from the 14-story building onto Boylston Street.
The metal apparatus was being dismantled when it came loose from the side of the building, according to Boston Fire Commissioner Kevin MacCurtain.
No Emerson students were injured in the accident.
Robert E. Beane, 41, of Baldwinville, Romildo Silva, 27, of Somerville and Dr. Michael Tsan Ty, 28, of Roslindale were all pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to the Boston Police Department (BPD) Web site.
Beane and Silva were both working on the platform for Bostonian Masonry, a subcontractor on the Emerson project, when the platform broke from the building and fell.
Ty was driving his silver Honda eastbound down Boylston Street toward Tremont Street when the platform fell onto his car.
Two other victims who suffered non-life-threatening injuries were treated at Boston Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the BPD.
David Rosen, vice president of public affairs, said that ISD issued a violation shortly after the accident that ceased all work on the site.
ISD will conduct a brief investigation and will likely approve further construction. The fall 2006 opening of the building will not be delayed, Rosen said.
"We're hopeful that they'll give us the green light to resume construction again before the end of the week, on the inside at least, which is where most of the work is being done, anyway," Rosen said.
John Chavez, OSHA public affairs director, said an OSHA investigation is currently "open and ongoing," and may take up to six months to complete.
OSHA has no power over when construction on the building will resume, Rosen said.
At a press conference following the accident, John Macomber, president and CEO of Macomber Builders, which is the general contractor on the project, offered sympathy to the families of the victims but would not comment on what may have caused the accident.
Macomber has incurred three violations of guidelines since beginning construction on the Piano Row complex, according to the OSHA Web site.
Macomber said there was no indication of trouble with the Piano Row project before the accident.
"OSHA is generally very pleased with us," Macomber said. "The project was going very well. We were working very hard to get students in there for Emerson College."
Chavez said representatives of the agency had not inspected the Piano Row site and that no violations had been issued for its construction.
Chavez also said that the number of violations is not uncommon for general contractors such as Macomber.
"If you look at other employers, you would see similar records," Chavez said. "OSHA doesn't get into the business of classifying any employers as good or bad, or safe or unsafe."
Jack Johnson, labor foreman with Phoenix Bay State Construction, said he worked for Bostonian Masonry until recently.
Johnson said he helped the company select limestone for the exterior of the Piano Row Building and that Beane, his friend of 12 years, replaced him on the job.
The apparatus was bolted to the building, and each bolt had to be loosened before the platform could be raised or lowered, according to Johnson. The points at which the scaffolding is attached are called "ties."
According to Karen Schwartzman, a representative of Bostonian Masonry, a third laborer, Shawn Armeen, was working on the platform with Beane and Silva at the time of the crash.
Armeen grabbed a railing on the building as he fell and managed to hang there until he could be pulled to safety. Armeen was not available for comment.
Large crowds of pedestrians and cameramen huddled at the corner of Boston Common near the intersection of Boylston and Charles streets as rescue officials labored to clear the wreckage and debris from the road in front of the site.
A black BMW damaged in the accident was parked just inside police barriers.
George Netherton, a Georgia resident in town to buy a wedding dress for his daughter, was driving his Jeep down Boylston Street, several cars behind Ty, when the platform fell.
"We saw all this debris come down and just mash this car," Netherton said. "It was kind of unbelievable, you just don't know what to do for a second."
Boylston Street was closed to traffic between Charles and Tremont streets until about 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to the BPD, and much of the street was also closed to pedestrians for several hours following the accident.
Three fire department engines, two ladders and one tower ladder labored at the scene for several hours following the crash to clear debris and free Ty and his car from the wreckage.
Several Emerson students and staff members witnessed the crash, many from windows at 180 Tremont St. and 120 Boylston St., which overlook the accident site.
Luis Tarraza, a junior TV/video major, was in a class in the Walker Building when the platform fell.
"We heard this big crash that sounded like a car accident," Tarraza said. "It really sounded like a big tractor trailer rolling over. We waited a few minutes and we just walked out. We saw the body lying down on the ground."
Tarraza said police covered the body with a sheet moments later.
James White had just passed the construction site in his car when the platform fell behind him. White said he left his car and tried to help the victims.
"All I heard was a crackling noise, and then I saw the scaffolding fall off the building," White said. "Both of the people that I seen, neither of them was talking. One of them had a lot more blood coming, and the other was unconscious."
Access to the front entrances of the Little Building and the Walker Building was limited for several hours following the accident. Classes after 3 p.m. in the Walker Building and the Tufte Performance and Production Center were cancelled, Linda Moore, vice president of academic affairs, wrote in an e-mail to students. The shuttle bus service was also re-routed.
In an effort to honor the victims, President Jacqueline Liebergott asked for a campus-wide moment of silence Tuesday at 1:20 p.m.
"We were all shocked and saddened by the tragic accident that occurred yesterday afternoon at the Piano Row construction site," Liebergott wrote in a college-wide e-mail. "All of us---students, faculty, staff and Trustees---mourn the loss of construction workers Robert Beane and Romildo Silva and Dr. Michael Ty. We extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends."
Amy Farnsworth and Miriam Clithero contributed to this article.
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