BUFORD - A 21-year-old man - who worked for a Flowery Branch company - was killed Monday in a construction accident after a support cable snapped on an excavator driven by his brother.
Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's Office investigator Ray Rawlins said Oscar Velasco of Lawrenceville died of blunt force trauma to the neck and head, causing a broken neck. Rawlins said Velasco was helping to install a sewage system for a new subdivision and was loading a trench box onto the tracked excavator, also known as a track hoe.
The trench box weighs about half a ton, and the cables were up to 100 pounds, Rawlins said.
``The tension is deadly,'' Rawlins said. ``It will destroy anything that it strikes.''
As his brother, Raul Velasco, lifted the trench box, one of the cables came off, striking Oscar Velasco on the base of his head and wrapping around his neck.
The Gwinnett County Fire Department was dispatched at approximately 7:43 a.m. Oscar Velasco died at the scene. The incident is under investigation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Friday
October 25th, 2024
7:34PM
