This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Worker Falls to Death at Hyperion Treatment Plant

A 30-year-old construction worker dies working on a wall at the Playa del Rey waste treatment facility, officials say.

[Updated: 9:30 p.m.]

A construction worker fell to his death around about noon Tuesday at the Hyperion Treatment Plant in Playa del Rey.

A wall collapsed during construction of a digest gas processing facility, and as it fell so did the 30-year-old worker, said Craig Harvey, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

Find out what's happening in Marina Del Reywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fire companies arrived on the scene to find the worker “beyond medical help" after falling 30 feet, said Cecco Secci, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The man was declared dead at the scene around 12:08 p.m., Secci said.

Find out what's happening in Marina Del Reywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Harvey identified the worker as a Hispanic man from the San Fernando Valley. His name has not been released because his next of kin has not yet been notified, he said.

This is the first construction-related fatality at the Hyperion plant since it modernized in 1950, said Cora Jackson-Fossett, a spokesperson for the city of Los Angeles Department of Public Works.

“We’ve had accidents, but never a fatality,” Jackson-Fossett said. An investigation is under way.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health was also notified of the incident. A Cal/OSHA investigation can take several months to complete, said public information officer Dean Fryer.

Cal/OSHA will make a final determination on the circumstances surrounding the death, Jackson-Fossett said.

“[Cal/OSHA] will identify if any agency did not carry out its responsibility,” Jackson-Fossett said.

The man was not an employee of the Department of Public Works. He worked for USS Cal Builders Inc., which the city had contracted with to construct the facility, Jackson-Fossett said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.