On March 2, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Austin, Texas. Wind gusts, which had been building from 30 mph since noon, peaked at slightly over 40 mph just before 9 p.m. The warning wasn't enough to prevent a tragedy.
Now, the family of a 29-year-old cyclist struck and killed by debris or material from a high-rise construction project that night has filed a negligence lawsuit against its developer and prime contractor, Greystar Development & Construction LLC, and other members of the construction team.
in the lawsuit filed June 23 in state court in Austin, Brittney Nova, wife of cyclist Michael Delgado, claims Greystar and other companies failed to secure materials on the partially completed 29-story student apartment tower on the University of Texas west campus.
"The debris was unsecured despite the fact that there was a wind and weather advisory in place at the time of the incident," the lawsuit says. Delgado also is survived by a daughter and mother.
Greystar officials could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit. At the time of the accident, the Charleston, S.C.-based contractor issued a statement saying its thoughts were with Delgado's family, and that the company had reached out to his attorney on the subject of assisting the family, and that it was cooperating in the investigation.
The complaint includes security camera photos of Delgado bicycling through a gas station across the street from the project and showing a rectangular object that is claimed to be debris heading downward from the structure.
Prior Wind-Related Tragedy
Delgado's death is the second recent project-related fatality unconnected to work on a Greystar Texas project.
In April, a civil court jury ordered the firm to pay more than $860 million to the family of victims of a 2019 Dallas tower crane collapse. It is unclear if that verdict or the damage award will be appealed.
In the aftermath of that accident, which also involved wind gusts, a Dallas County jury found Greystar guilty of negligence. The jury found a second defendant, crane owner Bigge Crane and Rigging, not guilty.
Federal safety officials apparently took a different position on the crane accident where a tower crane collapsed onto an adjacent apartment building. They penalized only Bigge Crane, not Greystar.
Student Housing Panels in Place
The Austin student housing project seemed to be progressing well. Six months ago, the construction team had begun enclosing 552 apartments and adjacent building areas.
A LinkedIn posting by one subcontractor reported that it was smoothly installing 709 cladding panels on the building's frame.
Following Delgado's death, a university student safety group called Safehorns said in a statement that multiple students had reported that debris had fallen from the partially finished building. Austin officials pledged to crack down on construction contractors and imposed special safety requirements on the housing project.
