Aerial Lift Accident Results in Death

According to the Boston Globe, "Federal safety officials and city homicide detectives continued yesterday to investigate the death Saturday of a worker who was slammed into a Downtown Crossing building when the aerial lift he was working from tipped over.

James Williamson and a second worker, Greg Johnson, were inspecting the roof of a Suffolk University dormitory Saturday morning when the 110-foot-tall aerial lift toppled into a condo building on West Street.

Williamson was hurled into the building and died at Massachusetts General Hospital Saturday evening. The hospital upgraded Johnson's condition from serious to fair yesterday. Fire officials said Johnson fell or jumped onto a second-floor rooftop as the lift fell.

Suffolk University officials said the school hired Tremco Inc. of Lakeville to inspect some of the buildings' rooftops. Tremco in turn hired Reliable Roofing and Sheet Metal of Framingham to perform the work.

Deryl Kratzer, president of Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance, which is based in Beachwood, Ohio, said in a statement yesterday that Williamson was an employee of Tremco, while the injured worker is employed by Reliable Roofing. Kratzer said Tremco is cooperating with authorities."

To read the whole story, click here.