A construction worker was killed in Bel-Air Monday afternoon after a forklift carrying a load of rebar fell on him, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded at 1 p.m. to a call about an adult male trapped under a forklift at 970 N. Moraga Drive, said Brian Humphrey, a fire department spokesman.
When firefighters arrived, they found a man trapped under a forklift that was transporting steel rebar to the construction site. Humphrey said that despite the rapid response of fire crews, including those trained, certified and equipped for urban search and rescue, the worker could not be saved. Firefighters pronounced the man dead at the scene. He was not immediately identified.
This fatal accident comes nearly a month after the death of a Port of Los Angeles employee in a similar accident.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of workers dying on the job has been increasing since 2013. In California, more than 500 workers died on the job in 2022, an increase from 2021, when the grim toll was 462. In 2022, the largest share of fatally injured workers – 26% – were in transportation and material moving occupations, according to the bureau.
The department has not released data on occupational deaths for 2023.
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