JUNE 22, 2015
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
A 35-year-old construction worker of Pike Company drowned Monday morning
near High Falls after he fell from a work boat and became trapped under the
water.
Pike was awarded a $5.9 million project by the state DOT this spring to rehab the span, which crosses the river just upstream of the High Falls.
Emergency crews were summoned to the Genesee River at the
Inner Loop in downtown Rochester about 8:30 a.m. Rochester Fire Lt. Willie
Jackson said personnel were able to locate the unidentified worker immediately,
but he had drowned before they could reach him.
The man was working in a small boat under the Inner Loop
bridge when the craft tipped over and the man fell in, Jackson said. The worker
was attached to a safety line to protect him from going over the nearby falls
in the event of an accident, but the tether line became stuck on an abutment
and he became trapped under water.
The bridge spans both the Genesee and the adjacent Brown's
Race, a man-made channel that branches off the river's west bank above the
falls and carries water to an Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. hydroelectric
plant.
It was not clear Monday if the man became trapped in the
river or in the race.
An autopsy will be performed by the Monroe County medical
examiner to determine the official cause of death.
There was a safety officer monitoring the man from above
when the accident occurred, said Investigator Jackie Shuman, a Rochester police
spokeswoman.
Rescuers asked RG&E to reduce the flow of water in the
river so they could reach the victim. RG&E spokesman Dan Hucko said small
dams just upstream of High Falls and at Court Street can be adjusted to hold
back water.
The worker's body was recovered about 10:30 a.m., Jackson
said.
The Pike Company issued a statement about an hour later
saying the deceased man was one of its employees.
"We continuously review our on-the-job safety
protocols, and offer regular safety training to our employees. This is an
unprecedented event and the most serious accident since our company's
inception," the statement said. Pike was founded in Rochester in 1873.
The statement said the company would make grief counselors
available to employees.
Pike was awarded a $5.9 million project by the state DOT
this spring to rehab the span, which crosses the river just upstream of the
High Falls.
An official from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration office in Buffalo was en route to the scene, an agency spokesman
said. OSHA investigates workplace accidents.
In addition to the Rochester Fire Department, RG&E,
Rochester police scuba team and Pike employees worked on the effort to rescue
the trapped man.
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