Companies Involved In Rt. 10 Construction Deaths Have Multiple OSHA Violations

HANOVER, N.J. – Two of the four companies working at a Rt. 10 construction site in Whippany Thursday have had numerous previous OSHA violations, the agency said.

A generator being carried by a crane at the location of the new Whippany Fire House Thursday fell into a ditch, killing one man and injuring another. The second man later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead in the early evening.

See related: 2 Confirmed Dead After Rt. 10 Construction Accident

The general contractor on the project, Precision Building, of Bridgewater, was fined for two violations in 2009 for an incident that occurred at a worksite in Phillipsburg. The initial total penalty was for $3,000, but Precision settled and paid $2,100, according to OSHA.

City Erectors, of West Caldwell, which provided the crane and crane operator Thursday, had one OSHA case that occurred in November 2014 in Paterson. There was no fine in that case.

Boz Electric, of Vernon, was cited for two violations in a May 2010 incident in Paterson that lead to $3,750 in fines, which were settled for a total payment of $2,625, OSHA reported. The worker who was injured and later died was employed by Boz Electric.

The man who was killed on site was employed by Industrial Process & Equipment, based in Sussex County, and cited for an October 2012 incident in which it was fined $2,100.

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office told Patch just after noon on Friday it did not have any new information from Thursday’s fatal accident. That office, along with OSHA, is investigating.