Officials ID Construction Worker Killed in I-90 Beam Accident (UPDATED)

UPDATED (12:24 p.m. Tuesday, April 5)

Vincente Santoyo, 47, of Berwyn, has been identified as the worker who was killed by a steel beam at a Des Plaines construction site on I-90 over Touhy Avenue, the Daily Herald reports.

Santoyo was pronounced dead Tuesday at Park Ridge's Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

In a press release, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is investigating the accident, said the falling of the steel beam could have been prevented, the Chicago Tribune reports. An OSHA spokesman told the Tribune the agency believes accidents like Tuesday's are preventable so long as OSHA standards and regulations are followed.

OSHA officials have opened an investigation into the deceased worker’s employer, Omega Demolition Corp., of Elgin, Ill., and the general contractor, Judlau Contracting Inc., of New York.

The workers were on site at about 3:30 a.m. when the 187-foot-long beam fell. The workers were underneath, according to the fire department. Authorities say the beam, part of the existing interstate bridge, was rigged for removal when the load shifted and the beam fell. The workers were all in small lift vehicles.

Eastbound traffic along I-90 in this area was reduced to a single lane. Touhy Avenue is closed to traffic and will be through Wednesday.

A posted detour will direct traffic on eastbound Touhy Avenue to go north on Wolf Road, east on Oakton Street and south on Mannheim Road to meet back at Higgins Road (Illinois 72). Westbound traffic on Touhy Avenue will take the reverse route.

Des Plaines Fire Chief Alan Wax said it will take time for workers to determine how to remove the beam.

Three workers were hurt. One of the injured was taken to Lutheran General Hospital; two others were taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. All were treated for their injuries and released.

The reconstruction project is part of the $2.5 billion Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) Rebuilding and Widening Project now under way, which spans 62 miles.

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Traffic was backed up for miles on I-90 eastbound earlier this morning, and the lane closures are expected to remain in place for most of the day.