1 killed, 1 injured by electrical shock at construction site on West Side of Chicago
A construction worker died after being electrocuted, and another worker was recovering after being shocked while working on a boom lift Tuesday morning at a construction site in the North Lawndale neighborhood.
Police said two men were working at a construction site in the 3400 block of West Ogden Avenue shortly after 8:30 a.m., when a 33-year-old man was killed after the lift came into contact with a power line.
A 26-year-old man who also was on the boom lift was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for observation and was listed in good condition, police said.
ComEd Crews responded to the scene to shut off power at the site after the incident.
The workers' radio was still hanging from the boom lift and playing music after the accident.
"That's rough, getting up and looking, looking out your window and somebody died," neighbor Louis Dye said.
Another neighbor said he saw the whole tragic ordeal. The neighbor, who didn't want to give his name, said he speaks to those two workers every day.
"I always meet them when they go to work, and I tell them, 'Love y'all, be safe, and be careful,'" he said.
The neighbor said, before the accident, he says they told him, "Y'all have a blessed and a safe day."
Ald. Monique Scott (24th) said the building, Grace Manor, was part of the city's Invest South/West program, an initiative started under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot to provide public financing for community development programs on the South and West sides.
A representative with the Chicago Housing Authority – which helped finance the project – said, when it opens, Grace Manor will be primarily affordable housing.
East Lake Management is one of the developers. The workers involved work for Burling Builders, a construction company helping build Grace Manor. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment.
The construction company hasn't faced any significant code violations in the past 10 years.
Rev. Marvin Hunter, whose nonprofit Grace at Jerusalem CDC partnered with East Lake Management to develop Grace Manor, said in a statement, "On behalf of Grace Manor Apartments, I'd like to express my deep concern and condolences for the families of the two young men involved in this tragic accident."
Area 4 detectives have opened a death investigation. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration also was investigating.