By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The construction worker injured yesterday when a 5,100-pound steel beam tipped over and pinned him is recovering at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The Olympia resident who is in his mid-20s ended up with a broken ankle, pelvis and ribs, according to Mike Swarthout.
Swarthout is the project manager with Kaufman Construction and Development which is erecting a 75,000 square foot sports center near Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
Aid responded yesterday morning to the site, where co-workers had already used a forklift and other equipment to move the beam.
Swarthout described the metal piece as 30 to 40 feet long and 6 feet tall; it was laying on the ground and had just been moved into position and shored up, he said.
“They’re still trying to figure out why it fell over,” he said.
The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating.
Swarthout didn’t release the worker’s name, but said he had no internal or head injuries and other than broken bones, everything else checked out okay. He is expected to undergo surgery today, he said.
The Lewis County Sports Center is roughly 40 percent finished and will provide space for indoor baseball, soccer, volleyball and basketball. Swarthout said it could be ready for use at the end of this year.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter