Construction Workers Jordan Romero, 28, and Carlos Gutierres, 32 were crushed to death by an Atlantic Coast Utilities, LLC truck in Boston

 

                                              Jordan Romero, 28, crushed to death by truck

Construction Workers Jordan Romero, 28, and Carlos Gutierres, 32 were crushed to death by an Atlantic Coast Utilities, LLC truck in Boston

 

By

Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com Staff

February 25, 2021

Two families are mourning the loss of loved ones and authorities are investigating after a “tragic incident” at a construction site in Boston on Wednesday morning left two workers dead. 

 “We will work tirelessly to understand how this happened in order to create safer conditions in the future,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in the hours after the tragedy. 

Investigators have said they are still in the process of determining the exact series of events that resulted in the deaths of the two men, whose identities have not been released by authorities. Family members have identified the two workers as Jordan Romero, 28, and Carlos Gutierres, 32. 

Below, what we know about the incident at the construction site that claimed the lives of the two young men. 

What authorities have said happened 

At a press conference on Wednesday, officials said first responders were called to the scene near 190 High St. around 8 a.m. for reports that pedestrians had been struck by a truck. 

Upon arrival at the scene, first responders located the bodies of two men in a hole in the street. The two workers were pronounced dead at the scene. 

Boston Fire Commissioner John Dempsey told reporters that when the department arrived at the scene, firefighters initially prepared to be engaged in a technical, confined space rescue. 

Once the scene was made safe, a firefighter and member of EMS were lowered into the hole to “assess” the two men, at which time the operation switched from a rescue effort to a recovery, Dempsey said.

The commissioner said rescuers had to move a truck before they lowered the two rescuers into the hole.

Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Greg Long said Wednesday that police were still working to determine the exact timeline and series of events that resulted in the tragedy, and were interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage. An exact “blow-by-blow” of what occurred could not be provided, he said.

Jared Petruzzella, who owns a barbershop near the construction site on High Street, told The Boston Globe he was waiting for his first appointment of the day to arrive when he saw a truck start, rev its engine, and grind into gear before it jolted backward, striking two men who were sitting over the construction hole. 

“It was pretty gruesome, pretty tragic,” he told the newspaper. “It didn’t look like anything collapsed on them inside. … It was a panic. It wasn’t a good scene.”

Family members of the deceased workers told the Globe the mattress-sized hole was about 20 feet deep. 

The investigation into the incident is being directed by Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, in conjunction with police and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Rollins said Wednesday that it was not yet clear whether any crime took place, but she was prepared to partner with the other agencies in the investigation, as when two workers were killed in a South End trench collapse in 2016.

“We know that it’s a tragedy,” Rollins said of the Wednesday incident.

In a statement Wednesday, Walsh said the city immediately suspended Atlantic Coast Utilities’ only other permitted construction site in Boston, saying the company will not be allowed to perform work in the city until “a thorough investigation is complete.”

Atlantic Coast Utilities is a limited liability company (LLC) located at 100 State St, Ste 900 in Boston, Massachusetts that received a Coronavirus-related PPP loan from the SBA of $70,240.00 in May, 2020.

“As a former laborer, the safety of our workers is of paramount importance to me,” Walsh said. “I’m heartbroken that two hardworking people lost their lives so suddenly and tragically.”

According to the Globe, Atlantic Coast Utilities had been doing an emergency sewer repair for LDJ Development at 190 High St. 

The company has been cited “multiple times” for violating workplace standards in recent years, a spokesperson for OSHA told the Globe. The federal agency reportedly suggested Atlantic Coast Utilities be fined $34,920 in 2016 for one “willful” and two “serious” violations, but the company did not pay the penalties. According to the Globe, in 2019 the company contested citations from OSHA totaling $7,502 for allegedly failing to provide safety instructions to workers and allegedly violating safety rules. 

The company had no citations or violations in 2020, OSHA told the Globe. But the newspaper found in a review of U.S. Department of Transportation data that 15 vehicles operated by Atlantic Coast Utilities failed highway safety inspections almost 27 percent of the time, above the 21 percent national average for vehicle inspections of similar companies. 

According to the Globe, drivers for the company were twice ordered off the road due to licensing issues. 

MassCOSH, a local worker safety group, called the deaths of the two men “preventable” in a statement on Wednesday. The group said Atlantic Coast Utilities’ record with  OSHA “raises serious questions regarding Boston’s Inspectional Services permitting process.”

“It is unclear at this time if the City did not conduct due diligence in awarding the permit or if Atlantic Coast Utilities failed to submit, or submitted incorrect information during the permitting process … One way to ensure that workers are safe is to prevent companies that have failed to protect their employees from receiving public contracts and/or permits,” the group said. 

On Thursday, Walsh in a statement again reiterated that the company will not be allowed to perform work in the city until an investigation into the fatal incident is complete. 

“No worker should ever have to worry about their safety or well-being at the job site,” Walsh said. “We need to understand what happened, so we can create safer conditions in the future.”

What we know about the victims 

While authorities have not released the names of the two workers who were killed, family members are speaking out and sharing memories of the two men. 

Jordan Romero, 28, of Lynn, was an employee of Atlantic Coast Utilities working on the private sewer line repair, his 23-year-old sister, Leslie Villalobos, told the Globe. 

She described her brother as “a fun guy” who was full of life and a hard worker. He was the oldest of four siblings, she told the newspaper, and always served as her protector. 

Romero got married on Jan. 2 and leaves behind children, she said. 

Villalobos told WHDH her brother’s two children are currently living in El Salvador, and he had been trying to find a way to make the money needed to bring them to live with him in Lynn.

“He found his job [to be] like an escape from reality,” Villalobos told the Globe. “And he just wanted to work really hard for his kids. … He always told me, ‘Life is gonna get tough, but you got to push forward, keep going.’ ”

Carlos Gutierres, 32, also worked for the Atlantic Coast Utilities, his sister, Edna Gutierres, told CBS Boston. 

Originally from Guatemala, Edna Gutierres told WHDH her brother was living in Chelsea.

He was a hard worker, she told CBS Boston. 

“He was working for his family, trying to do the best for them,” she said.

GoFundMe set up for family of Carlos Gutierrez, one of two workers who died at Boston construction site

 

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family of 32-year-old Carlos Gutierrez, one of two workers killed Wednesday morning after reportedly being hit by a truck and falling into a hole at a construction site in Boston’s Financial District. (Diana Perez/GoFundMe)

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ATLANTIC COAST UTILITIES, LLC

Company Number

001172605

Incorporation Date

8 May 2015 (almost 6 years ago)

Company Type

Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Jurisdiction

Massachusetts (US)

Registered Address

·        100 STATE STREET, SUITE 900

·        BOSTON,

·        02109

·        MA

·        USA

Agent Name

LAURENCE MOLONEY

Agent Address

100 STATE ST. STE. 900, BOSTON, MA, 02109, USA

Directors / Officers

·        LAURENCE MOLONEY, agent

·        LAURENCE MOLONEY, manager

·        LAURENCE MOLONEY, real property

Registry Page

http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/C...

In April 2016, OSHA records show Atlantic Coast Utilities was cited and fined a combined $34,920 for three safety violations for a job on West Brookline Street in Boston, including issues with support systems and stability measures to prevent the possible collapse of structures, such as sidewalks and pavement; failing to protect employees from excavated or other materials or equipment that could pose a hazard by falling or rolling into excavations; and for failing to have a system in place to prevent cave-ins during excavations. The third violation on its own carried a fine of $25,000, 5 Investigates has learned.

In March 2019, OHSA records indicate Atlantic Coast Utilities was cited and fined $7,500 for two serious safety violations while working a job on Prescott Street in East Boston, including failing to train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions or eliminate hazards to illness or injury; and issues with support systems and stability measures to prevent the possible collapse of structures, such as sidewalks and pavement.

The company is currently contesting the 2019 fine.

In 2016, two employees of a plumbing company died in the city's South End when the trench in which they were working on Dartmouth Street collapsed, broke a fire hydrant supply line and filled with water.

Kevin Otto, owner of Atlantic Drain Service Co., was convicted in 2019 of two counts of manslaughter in a jury-waived trial.

 

C&O Investigations: Buckled, Crowned or Cupped Hardwood FLOOR Claims

By Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting & Forensics

This past winter we had a lot of assignments dealing with damaged hardwood floors.  The insureds claimed that water from the winter storms caused the damages to the wooden floors. Cupping, buckling, and crowning are three common problems encountered in wood flooring damage claims. They are all caused by moisture changes in the wooden floor and the subfloor, assuming the floor was properly installed.  Incorrect expansion gaps and lack of vapor barrier are also very common reasons of hardwood floor buckling.

Wood will lose or gain moisture until it is in balance with this surrounding environment. Higher relative humidity (RH) usually causes the expansion of wood, because the wood absorbs the increased water moisture vapors from the air; lower RH usually causes wood to shrink as it releases the excessive water moisture vapors back into the air. Acclimation of hardwood floors to the jobsite, proper testing and control, before, during, and after the installation plays a very important role in the behavior of the hardwood floor. Many hardwood manufacturers suggest keeping the relative humidity of the home in the range of 40-55% after the installation to maintain the floor's original appearance. Not doing so will cause shrinkage, swelling (buckling) or other unpleasant surprises.

Cupping occurs when the edges of a board are higher than its center.  See schematic below.

 

Assuming the flooring has been properly installed, cupping can occur due to excessive moisture which causes the wood flooring to swell, crushing the boards together and deforming them at the edges. The board edges then “cup” due to excessive moisture content (MC) in the flooring. Once the cause of the moisture is identified and controlled, cupping can possibly be reversed.

Crowning is the opposite; the center of a board is higher than its edges. See sketch below.

This can occur when the surface of the floor encounters moisture or is left in wet or humid conditions for an extended period of time. Crowning may also occur due to previous floor cupping problems. If the floor is cupped, the floor should be given ample time to dry. If the floor is sanded while the boards remain cupped and moisture is still present, the sanding process can sand off the top edges of the board and thus, the edges are lower than the rest of the board when it returns to a normal MC.

Buckling occurs when wood flooring actually pulls away from its sub-floor, lifting up to several inches in one or more places.

 

Figure 1.  Buckled floor.  Here, our C&O investigation discovered significant moisture issues in the basement, mold growth throughout the basement and past water impacts.  We also determined that no vapor barrier was installed between the concrete floor and wooden floor and that the expansion gaps were insufficient for the size of the hardwood flooring, causing it buckle in several areas.  We opined that the recent winter storms did not cause the floors to buckle.

In addition to incorrect installation (e.g., inadequate expansion gaps), the most common reason that buckling occurs is excessive moisture or after a floor has been flooded for a period of time. Other causes on nailed floors might be insufficient nailing, incorrect nails or incorrect subfloor construction. On glued floors, use of incorrect or insufficient mastics to an inadequate mastic transfer, a subfloor separation or a subfloor contamination can cause buckling.

Improper Installation

Often times we see improper expansion gaps in hardwood floors.  Many installers use one quarter inch gaps for expansion at the walls; the 1/4" recommendation can sometimes cause problems for both hardwood and laminate floors. Expansion gaps are spaces left around the perimeter of rooms, against fixed objects such as columns, thresholds, hearths, baseboard, and other stationary items built or secured into the framing structure of the home. Even though wood flooring used is no longer living and breathing, it still reacts to moisture changes in the environment. The cells in the hardwood will take on or absorb moisture when the relative humidity is high, or when exposed to water. Expansion takes place across the grain or width of the plank. Conversely, when air moisture levels decrease, moisture content evaporates, shrinkage occurs.

Solid hardwoods by far, will expand and contract more than engineered products. How much will depend on the layout involved, seasonal change in relative humidity, specie selection, and type of hardwood cut. For smaller areas such as 10' x 12' rooms, leaving 3/8" expansion would be satisfactory. However getting into larger layouts over a few thousand square feet it would be wise to stay within the age old guideline of at least 3/4" on the perimeter.  At other times we see no vapor retarder between a concrete slab and wood flooring, as is recommended by the National Wood Flooring Association.  See NWFA Technical Publication No. C200, Problems, Causes and Cures of Hardwood Floors, 2002.

Based on the above discussion, there are quite a few causes of wooden floor damage: The home owner turning the air conditioning off and the RH rises to greater than 55%; the floor supplier delivering wet wood. The contractor / sub-contractor / installer not checking the concrete slab or the sub floor, contractor not acclimating the floor long enough, not installing the floor properly, and so on.

The C&O Investigation

After determining the facts regarding the history of the hardwood floor installation and maintenance, the next step of a C&O investigation is to identify the moisture source: high indoor RH, site drainage issues, crawlspace or basement moisture issues, a water spill, a leak from a dishwasher hose or a plumbing leak, etc.  Most insureds fail to recognize the importance of the moisture content in the actual subfloor. Without paying attention to it, an imbalance between the subfloor and wood flooring can cause unsightly effects with the most common being cupping. Both wood and concrete subfloors should not be exposed to excessive moisture. However, this is easier said than done, as we always observe significant issues with the moisture management around the building.  The main moisture “culprits” are listed below:

Culprit #1: Rain Gutters and Downspouts Discharging next to the Building Foundation

Improperly constructed and maintained rain gutters and downspouts are one of the leading problems of moisture intrusion into the building. Clogged gutters and downspouts from leaves and disconnected downspouts, are all factors that could allow water to discharge immediately next to the foundation. A downspout extension that delivers water away from the perimeter of the home is a simple form of moisture prevention.

Figure 2.  View of the rain gutter discharging immediately next to the crawl space, contributing to the moisture problem.

Culprit #2: Unventilated Crawl Spaces and Basements

A crawl space is an area below a wood subfloor or below the floor joists. The crawl spaces and high humidity basements account for a large number of wood floor problems. Proper water drainage and air ventilation must be available and the area be protected with thick plastic film to minimize air vapor affecting the sub base. Covering is one requirement, keeping moisture from collecting or forming in puddles on top is another. Excessive moisture in this area can also lead to mold growth on surrounding framing members. Poor drainage has been known to seep into crawl spaces as well. Another problem area with the crawl spaces is that many leaking utilities exist there, with the insured almost never inspecting the crawl space (out of sight, out of mind). On many occasions, the insured improperly discharges the dryer vent into this space, causing significant moisture problems (See Figure 3).

 

Figure 3:  View of an unventilated crawl space and the dryer vent pipe running through it.  Note the lack of a vapor barrier.  Also note the moisture impacts on the walls and bottom of the crawl space.  The damaged wooden floor is located immediately above this high moisture area.

Culprit #3: Improper Drainage

Many homes that are built on sloping surface face drainage issues, as the upgradient water is moving towards their home. Most modern homes and their developments take drainage into account when they are built. The problem arises when the insureds expand their homes, without taking site drainage into account.  On some occasions, the subsurface drains have been damaged by new construction or are clogged, and so on.  Thus, diversion of the water away from the building is not possible, leading into moisture problems inside the home.

Lack of diverting ground water away from the foundation creates a wick effect. Any standing or subsurface water has to go somewhere. If you find your home falls into this category after heavy rains or major snow melt, corrective measures should be taken. Depending on the circumstances it may be as simple as digging a few trenches or more complex, by installing a drain system.

Figure 4.  View of a rainwater accumulation area immediately outside the crawl space.  Note the settlement gap that also allowed rainwater to enter the crawlspace. This and several other areas around the building contributed to the moisture problem inside the crawlspace.

Many other areas of moisture intrusion into the building exist: sprinklers that deliver too much water close to the building, window wells receiving rain water, unsealed foundation walls, settlement around the building, and so on.  Unless these moisture sources are checked, they can enter the building basement or crawlspace and adversely affect the subfloor and the wooden floor.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting & Forensics (MECF)

Providing Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, NJ 07670-0520

Tel.: (201)293-6064

E-mail: metroforensics@gmail.com

Web pages:  https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanenvironmental/

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