Wednesday, April 15, 2015

ARGYLE ISD RELEASES FATAL ACCIDENT VIDEO. COPPELL-BASED NORTHSTAR BUILDERS ON THE SPOTLIGHT FOR THE 2 DEATHS AND SEVERAL INJURIES





APRIL 14, 2015

ARGYLE, TEXAS

Video released Tuesday by the Argyle Independent School District shows the horrifying moment a man lost his life at a school construction site.

Less than two weeks ago, without any warning, an indoor athletic facility that was being built on the campus of Argyle High School collapsed. The video shows steel beams giving way like a house of cards.

Construction worker Julio Ledesma, who was inside the structure on a lift at the time, was killed.

Then last Tuesday at the same work site, construction worker Daniel Moran, 22, was fatally run over by a truck his own father was driving.

That night, Argyle ISD decided to suspend all construction temporarily. 

Northstar Builders, responsible for the projects, voluntarily agreed to halt work. Construction will not begin again until the district reviews the findings of a safety audit they're commissioning after these two tragedies.

Argyle ISD has not yet selected who will do the audit, and there's no timeline about when it will be completed.

Four surveillance cameras were rolling on April 2 when a massive structure under construction at Argyle High Shcool collapsed. 

Sunny Yeatts, who has a grandchild in the district, says stopping construction and performing a safety audit were the right things to do.

"I thought that was an excellent decision," she said. "I would support it 110 percent."

Coppell-based Northstar Builders work with a number of area school districts, with current projects at Northwest ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. 

Duncanville ISD and Arlington ISD have worked with Northstar in the past, and Duncanville is set to use Northstar to build two new elementary schools this summer.

Officials with the Duncanville and Arlington districts said they are closely watching what's happening in Argyle.

"We are following the unfortunate accident in Argyle and will be very interested in the outcome of the investigation," Arlington ISD spokeswoman Leslie Johnston said in a written statement. "We will use the investigation results, as appropriate, to improve safety, if needed."

We tried to speak with Argyle ISD Superintendent Dr. Telena Wright on Tuesday, but through her secretary she said she would not be speaking with us on camera, and could not discuss the situation until Thursday, because she was interviewing principal candidates.

Northstar told News 8 Tuesday that out of an abundance of caution, they performed additional safety meetings at other ongoing construction sites.

Source: http://www.wfaa.com