A construction worker was killed and another injured when a steel beam fell at a worksite in north suburban Evanston Tuesday morning.
At around 8:25 a.m., officers responded to a call of a construction accident at 811 Emerson St. to find that a steel beam had fallen on two of the workers, according to Evanston police.
Crews were using a crane to unload steel stabilization columns from the back of a truck when the crane's rigging failed, Evanston fire officials said in a statement, and the steel beams fell from approximately 30 feet and struck the workers.
"It looked like one bar ended up between the fence and the truck on the ground," said Regina Henry, whose home overlooks the construction site. "And then the two on the bed of the truck and one of them you could see it went through the bed of the truck."
One of the workers was pinned for a period of time, officials said, and both were taken to the NorthShore University HealthSystem Evanston Hospital where one was pronounced dead.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified the worker who was killed as 55-year-old David Bialas from Compton, Illinois.
The man who was injured was a 27-year-old man from Woodridge, according to police and fire officials. His leg was pinned by a support beam and he was extricated by the fire department, officials said. He was taken into surgery and was listed in serious but stable condition, authorities said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was called the scene and the incident was under investigation, according to police.
Emerson between Sherman and Maple was closed as authorities remained on the scene, officials said.
