Three dead after scaffolding collapse at construction site near uptown Charlotte
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Charlotte Scaffolding Collapse
On Jan. 2, 2023, scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in Charlotte, killing three workers.
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Three construction workers are dead after falling about 70 feet when scaffolding collapsed at a construction site near uptown Charlotte and Dilworth on Monday morning, MEDIC and Charlotte Fire said.
Charlotte Fire said on social media just after 9 a.m. that it was responding to an “industrial accident” at a construction site in the 700 block of East Morehead Street, at Euclid Avenue. CFD said in a later statement the accident was “a scaffolding collapse.”
MEDIC has confirmed there were three fatalities, and CFD Captain Jackie Gilmore said at a press conference all three died at the scene.
Two additional construction workers were rescued by firefighters and were taken to a hospital with “minor injuries,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said all work at the construction site has been stopped, and the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will partner with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on the investigation.
OSHA representatives arrived at the site shortly before noon Monday, Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported.
There were 64 workplace deaths in North Carolina in the fiscal year ending in September 2022, according to data from the state Department of Labor. That was down from the 92 in the 2021 fiscal year and 80 in the 2020 fiscal year.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that OSHA representatives from the state Department of Labor, not the federal Department of Labor, are investigating.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Observer reporter Ames Alexander contributed to the reporting of this story.
This story was originally published January 2, 2023 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Three dead after scaffolding collapse at construction site near uptown Charlotte."
