Emergency crews clear the scene Tuesday morning following a
water rescue. Wes Duplantier — New Haven Register
JUNE 17, 2015
NEW HAVEN, CT
The construction worker who fell into New Haven Harbor
Tuesday while working on a new dock for the Magellan Terminal has died.
William Klemenz, 60, died at 6:33 p.m. Tuesday, according to
Mark D’Antonio, a spokesman for Yale-New Haven Hospital.
The Higganum man, according to workers, had been treated for
brain cancer a year and a half ago and may have suffered a medical emergency that
caused him to fall. Klemenz was an employee of Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman,
construction engineers, and was a member of the carpenters union for the past
36 years.
The death is being investigated by the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration and an autopsy will be performed.
Robert Koslowski, the OSHA area director out of Bridgeport,
said the coroner’s report is key to the investigation.
“It can take anywhere from six to eight weeks,” he said. A
compliance officer was on the scene Wednesday morning.
Koslowski said other reports Tuesday night that Klemenz was
working on a fuel line were incorrect.
Klemenz had returned to dock work in the last few months
after recovering from his illness, associates said. Before that he was working
in the Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman yard in Branford.
“He was a very talented guy and was well liked,” a union
spokesman, who did not want to be named, said of Klemenz. “He will be missed.”
A spokesman for Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman did not immediately
return requests for comment.
Klemenz reportedly was only in the water for a very short
time when he was pulled out by his co-workers, who began to give him CPR. He
was assisting a welder in the front of the barge, handing him metal rods, when
he disappeared, according to a union worker.
Klemenz was said to be wearing a safety vest when the
accident occurred around 15 feet from the shore.
The longtime worker reportedly was found face down in the
water. Dock workers often wear very heavy toolbelts while on the job, according
to a worker.
Fire Department personnel took over emergency treatment for
Klemenz when they arrived on the accident scene around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Grief counselors are available to the crew members,
according to the union.
“The crew was very close,” a union spokesman said.
Magellan issued a statement on the incident Tuesday. “Our
thoughts and prayers are with the individual involved and his family,” it read.
Police said in a statement that the department was not
involved in the water rescue. “There is nothing to suggest foul play or
anything that’s raised suspicion about the man’s fall. Police were informed it
was likely a medical condition that led to this tragic accident,” the statement
said.