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Durham Police said a construction worker could die after a metal beam fell from the fifth floor and hit a portable toilet he was inside of.
The beam fell at a site in the 400 block of Morris Street around 3:30 p.m.
The worker was inside the portable toilet on ground level when the metal beam fell.
The beam hit the portable toilet and the worker, police confirmed.
The worker was rushed to the Duke hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Barnhill Contracting Company said the injured worker is an employee of a local plumbing company.
The North Carolina Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division is investigating.
A spokesman for the NCDL confirmed that the victim was an employee of Acme Plumbing Company.
In some places you cannot even take a crap without risking injury or death.
Marty Mangum wrote on Facebook:
I just visited Jesse Zimmer in the hospital. He is in desperate need of prayer. God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. Also pray for his family as they walk through this difficult journey.==============
DURHAM (WTVD) -- A construction worker is in critical condition after he was injured Wednesday while using a portable toilet at work.
Durham Police identified him Thursday as 38-year-old Jesse Zimmer.
Police said the incident happened around 3:30 Wednesday afternoon at a construction site in the 400 block of Morris Street.
Officers said Zimmer was inside of the portable toilet when a large metal beam fell off of a building from five stories up and hit the portable bathroom, crushing it.
"We called 911 with some other guys. We tried to figure out what was going on," said Luis Carmona, who was arriving to pour concrete at a nearby construction site when the incident happened.
Zimmer was taken to the hospital.
Carmona said he has seen accidents before but this one left him "shocked."
The 15-acre construction site covers the entire 400 block of Morris Street at Hunt Street.
It's the first phase of the $100 million Durham Innovation District - two seven-story buildings of research labs, retail, and restaurants.
Raleigh-based Barnhill Contracting is in charge of the project.
Department of Labor records show two serious accidents on Barnhill sites since 2008.
ABC11 reached out to Barnhill but did not hear back Wednesday.
As of late Wednesday evening, the injured worker remained in critical condition. He remained hospitalized Thursday, police said.
"It could've happened to anybody," Carmona said. "It could've been me, or anybody else."
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State investigation begins after worker injured in portable toilet
Posted 10:11 a.m. today
Updated 8 minutes ago
Durham, N.C. — Investigators with the North Carolina Department of Labor were working Thursday morning at a Durham construction site to piece together the accident that led to a beam falling on a portable toilet while a man was inside.
Jesse Zimmer, 38, is an employee of Acme Plumbing and Heating Company, which was contracted by Barnhill Contracting Company to work on the site, at 400 Morris St.
Durham police said Zimmer was inside the portable toilet at about 3 p.m. Wednesday when a large metal beam fell from the fifth floor of a building, crushing the toilet.
Zimmer was rushed to a local hospital where he is being treated for serious injuries.
A Department of Labor spokeswoman said her agency learned about the incident when they saw it on the news. Acme had contacted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which checks and enforces safe working conditions. The agencies will work together to investigate the accident, Department of Labor spokeswoman Mary Katherine Revel said. The construction site is part of the Durham Innovation District, which will include 1.3 million square feet of parking, retail, office and residential space, according to the project's website.