WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Investigators are working to determine if strong wind gusts are to blame for the deadly collapse of a home under construction on the South Shore that killed a father of two.
Officers and firefighters responding to a report of a construction collapse at a single-family home on Vine Street shortly before noon Tuesday learned that one person was trapped in the rubble and requested assistance from a technical rescue team, according to Weymouth Deputy Fire Chief Tom Murphy.
The victim, 29-year-old Mario Diaz Obando, was unconscious and suffering from serious injuries when he was pulled from the collapse and rushed to South Shore Hospital.
Obando died from his injuries at the hospital, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said.
Obando’s younger brother, Freddy, spoke with Boston 25 News Reporter Kerry Kavanaugh, and said he was also working at the site when the framed house collapsed. Freddy said he heard it, and raced to help his brother, but the weight of the debris was too much.
Freddy was also injured, taking a blow to his knee and one to the head during the collapse.
He said his brother Mario was a father of two kids, a 4-year-old and 8-year-old, who are currently in their home country of Ecuador. Freddy said he and Mario were here working to help his family.
Freddy said his older brother was “always happy, kind, and friendly.”
Four other people working on the home escaped the collapse without help. Murphy said they were transported from the scene with various minor injuries, including head trauma. When asked to describe the collapse, Murphy told reporters, “It looked like the building got pushed over.”
Neighborhood residents who witnessed the collapse recalled a powerful gust of wind before the home was toppled.
“It was a very strong gust of wind out of nowhere, a very violent wind,” Sonny Nguyen said. “The whole power line was wobbling up and down. I’ve never seen that before.”
Kelly Keating added, “It just went down like matchsticks. A big gust of wind came, like a crazy gust of wind, and within three seconds that building just went down.”
The strongest winds of the day were reported at Boston’s Logan Airport between 11 a.m. and noon with a gust hitting 63 mph. Shortly before the collapse in Weymouth, scaffolding was toppled over in a construction accident in Quincy.
The Weymouth collapse is under investigation by the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents, the Weymouth Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.
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