Monday, June 22, 2015

PIKE EMPLOYEE DROWNS IN GENESEE RIVER NEAR HIGH FALLS IN ROCHESTER, NY










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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