Death leads to OSHA investigation
Inquiry could take up to six months to complete
Granite City Assistant Police Chief Maj. Jeff Connor described the high lift as a cherry picker.
Howard Brown, 57, of the 600 block of Aurora Ave., St. Louis, was employed by I.T.C. International, of Garden Grove, Calif.Cynthia Wagner, assistant area director of OSHA whose office is located in Fairview Heights, said Friday that the agency is trying to find out who owns the property, which could have more than one owner, and the names of all the companies whose contractors are razing the building.
The property used to be owned by Granite City Pickling before it was sold to the International Voyage Corp., of Huntington Beach, Calif., who sold it to another company. Officials are trying to find out the name of the company.
The property sits on the site of the old Commonwealth Steel plant.
The agency, Wagner said, is also trying find out if a new demolition permit was acquired because the property is no longer owned by the company that acquired the original permit for the demolition work.
"I do not have a clue as to how long the investigation will take," Wagner said. "We've been to the site. We have a lot of questions to ask and up to six months to complete the investigation."
According to a press release from the Madison County Coroner's office, Brown was dismantling the property, located at 1100 Niedringhaus Ave., when he fell due to the partial collapse of the building.
Brown had been using a torch to cut a steel beam.
He was pronounced dead at 8:18 a.m. at the site. His death was caused by blunt force trauma to the chest, the release stated.
