Two workers were killed and a third injured when a 25-foot wall collapsed at a Goodwill Industries building under construction in Hendersonville, Tenn.
The April 18 incident killed Joel Pineda Muniz, 24, of Nashville and Jose P. Velasco-Sanagustin, 37, of Bethpage, Tenn. The third man, Jeff Costello, 44, of Scottsville, Ky., was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and was released the next day.
Costello and Velasco-Sanagustin were employed by Thorne’s Excavating Co. of Lebanon, Tenn., and Muniz worked for N&S Waterproofing LLC of Nashville.
Solomon Builders Inc. of Nashville is the general contractor on the job, a 28,000-sq-ft building for Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, which planned a retail store, job-training center and donation drop-off center. Thorne’s and N&S are subcontractors.
The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident.
TOSHA has cited Solomon Builders five times since 2005, classifying the incidents as serious three times, citing it for inadequate fall protection. It fined the company a total of $11,535.
N&S Waterproofing has been cited twice for serious violations, involving aerial lifts and ladders, and fined $1,400.
Thorn’s has not been involved in TOSHA action.
There were questions about possible effects from strong winds in the area that day. Tom Johnson, meteorologist with the Nashville Weather Service in Nashville, said there was a wind advisory issued that day and a sustained wind of 32 mph was measured at 9:40 a.m. The wall collapse was reported around 10 a.m.