2 men fall and die from dizzying heights, adding to a deadly trend since February
Two men plummeted to their deaths from dizzying heights Friday, one working on an overpass, the other falling from the 10th floor of a Miami Beach construction site. A third fell and dangled from a condo before making it to safety on Friday afternoon.
The day was overcast and quite breezy. Law enforcement had not released the names of the workers by late in the afternoon.
The first incident happened in the morning on the Palmetto Expressway near Northwest 74th Street. Florida Highway Patrol Spokesman Joe Sanchez said the man was inspecting an overpass when he slipped and fell about 25 feet near South River Drive.
He was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In the second incident, a worker plunged 10 floors from the former Versailles Hotel at 3425 Collins Ave. The Art Deco building was unoccupied and under construction.
Traffic was diverted from Collins Avenue for several hours. Miami Beach police said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will take over the investigation.
The third incident involved a construction worker who was working on Sunny Isles Beach condo on Friday afternoon, according to WSVN Channel 7. He fell off the scaffold and, with the help of another worker, hoisted himself back up with a rope, the station reported.
The two deaths follow an increasing trend of construction deaths in South Florida since February, when a construction worker was killed and another injured in a crash between their boom lift and a Metromover car.
In March, a man died after falling from the seventh floor of another Miami Beach condominium under construction, the L´Excellence.
Then last month three men died while working on a Miami Gardens TV transmission tower for WSVN Channel 7 and WPLG Channel 10. The scaffolding used to reach the top of the edifice collapsed. The men were at the top of the 1,000-foot tower.
Also, a construction worker was injured two weeks ago when he plunged off State Road 836 when a truck toppled on its side at the edge of the expressway.
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This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 5:38 PM with the headline "2 men fall and die from dizzying heights, adding to a deadly trend since February."